3:2 Pull-down The method used to map the 24 fps of film onto the 30 fps of 525-line TV.
3D Modeling The process of creating 3D objects on a computer.
4:1:1 In 4:1:1 chroma subsampling, the horizontal color resolution is quartered, and the bandwidth is halved compared to no chroma subsampling.
4:2:0 In 4:2:0, the horizontal sampling is doubled compared to 4:1:1.
4:2:2 A commonly used term for a component digital video format.
4:4:4 Digital images or video in which all color components have the same sampling rate, thus not using chroma subsampling.
4fsc The sampling rate of a D2 digital video signal with respect to the sub-carrier frequency of an NTSC or PAL analog video signal.
4K UHD Ultra-high-definition television (also known as Ultra HD television, Ultra HD, UHDTV, UHD and Super Hi-Vision) today includes 4K UHD and 8K UHD, which are two digital video formats with an aspect ratio of 16:9.
5.1 The common name for six-channel surround sound audio systems.
8 Mm A compact videocassette record/playback* tape format which uses eight-millimeter wide magnetic tape. A worldwide standard established in 1983 allowing high-quality video and audio recording.
8K UHD Ultra-high-definition television (also known as Ultra HD television, Ultra HD, UHDTV, UHD and Super Hi-Vision) today includes 4K UHD and 8K UHD, which are two digital video formats with an aspect ratio of 16:9.
8VSB The modulation method used for broadcast in the ATSC digital television standard.
24p A video format that operates at 24 frames per second.
24Psf 24 frame per second, progressive segmented frame.
35mm A film gauge used in filmmaking, and the film standard.[1] In motion pictures that record on film, 35 mm is the most commonly used gauge.
48sF The process of taking 24-frame progressive images and deconstructing them to produce 48 interlaced frames each with half of the number of lines of resolution to allow some HDTV processors to pass the signal and for viewing on an interlaced monitor without flicker.
180-degree Rule An imaginary line drawn across two subjects, setting a boundary for the camera angles. The action axis is used to anchor the continuity of action on screen.
480i A vertical resolution of 480 lines, and the i identifies it as an interlaced resolution.
480p A vertical resolution of 480 pixels, usually with a horizontal resolution of 640 pixels and 4:3 aspect ratio or a horizontal resolution of 854 or less.
576i A standard-definition video mode originally used for terrestrial television in most countries of the world where the utility frequency for electric power distribution is 50 Hz.
576p A vertical resolution of 576 pixels, usually with a horizontal resolution of 720 or 704 pixels.
720p A progressive HDTV signal format with 720 horizontal lines and an aspect ratio (AR) of 16:9, normally known as widescreen HDTV (1.78:1).
1080i A combination of frame resolution and scan type, used in high-definition television (HDTV) and high-definition video.
1080p A set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen vertically.
A-roll Main footage used in production. Contrast with B-roll.
A/A Roll Editing Editing from a single source using effects to transition from the source to itself (source "A" to "A") using a picture freeze at the end of one scene to transition the start of the next scene.
A/B Roll Editing Editing from two source VCRs ("A" and "B") to a third (recording) VCR. Typically a switcher or mixer, such as the Digital Video Mixer, is used to provide transition effects between sources.
A/X/A Roll Editing Editing from a single source using effects to transition from the source to itself (source "A" to "A") using a picture freeze at the end of one scene to transition the start of the next scene.
Acoustics The science and study of recorded or transmitted sound waves.
Action The scene description, character movement, and sounds as described in a screenplay.
Action Axis An imaginary line drawn across two subjects, setting a boundary for the camera angles. The action axis is used to anchor the continuity of action on screen.
Action Cutting The process of aligning or overlapping the shots of a film sequence in order to achieve a smooth transition from the action in one shot to the action of the succeeding shot.
Action Point In scriptwriting: the consequence or outcome of a plot point or story element that is set-up earlier in a screenplay.
Action Safe Area Boundaries within which contents of a television picture are sure to be seen, regardless of masking differences in receiver displays.
Actor A person who portrays a character in a performance (also actress; see below).
Adaptive Differential Pulse-code Modulation (ADPCM) A variant of differential pulse-code modulation (DPCM) that varies the size of the quantization step, to allow further reduction of the required data bandwidth for a given signal-to-noise ratio.
Add-on Third-party software created to add a new feature to an application, such as Premiere or After Effects.
Ad Libitum (AD-LIB) Individual moments during the live presentation when a presenter speaks through their character using words not found in the play's text.
Administration Metadata Provides information to help manage a resource, such as when and how it was created, file type and other technical information, and who can access it.
Adobe RGB Color Space A color space developed by Adobe Systems, Inc. in 1998 designed to encompass most of the colors achievable on CMYK color printers, but by using RGB primary colors on a device such as a computer display.
Advanced Television Systems Committee Standards (ATSC) Name of the North American organization that sets the standards for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks. Replaces the analog NTSC standards.
Aerial Shot A shot taken from an airborne device, generally while moving. This technique has gained popularity in recent years due to the growing availability of drones.
After Effects (AE) After Effects is to video editing what Photoshop is to image manipulation: an all-encompassing application with a professional toolset designed for anything from titling to character animation, compositing and more.
Algorithm A formula or set of steps used to simplify, modify, or predict data.
Aliasing A side effect of digital signal processing that causes distortion or unwanted artifacts in the reconstruction process. Aliasing can affect both the video and the audio signals.
Alpha Channel A channel in an image or movie clip that controls the opacity region.
Alter Ego An alternative self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality.
Alternating Current (AC) An electric current which periodically reverses direction, in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction.
Amateur Television (ATV) The transmission of broadcast-quality video and audio over the wide range of frequencies of radio waves allocated for radio amateur (Ham) use.
Ambient Lighting General, non-directional, room light not supplied on purpose by the photographer.
Ambient Noise The total sound in a given area which is particular to that space.
American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A private non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States.
Amplitude The strength of an electronic signal as measure by its waveform height.
Amplitude Distortion (AD) The nonlinear relation of input and output induced harmonics which is a function of voltage fluctuations or power consumption.
Amplitude Modulation (AM) A modulation technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave.
Analepsis An interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point in the story.
Analog Opposite of digital. The term refers to the recording (storage and measurement) of an infinitely variable signal gathered from a physical source. In electronics, analog signals are generally acquired through the Composite, S-Video, or Component Video connectors.
Analog-to-digital Converter (ADC) An electronic component that converts an analog signal to a digital signal. ADC accuracy are rated based on their bandwidth (sampling rate) and signal-to-noise ratio.
Analog Monitor A video monitor which accepts analog* signals. The signals transmitted to an analog monitor are usually between 0 and 1 V and use 75 ohm coaxial cables.
Analog Recording A means of recording audio or video whereby the recorded signal is a physical representation of the waveform of the original signal.
Anamorphic The cinematography technique of shooting a widescreen picture on standard 35mm film or other visual recording media with a non-widescreen native aspect ratio.
Anamorphic Widescreen (FHA) A process by which a comparatively wide widescreen image is horizontally compressed to fit into a storage medium with a narrower aspect ratio.
Angle Of Light The angle between the orientation of a light source and the viewing directio
Angle Of View (AOV) The size of the field covered by a lens, measured in degrees.
Angle On A type of shot. This usually occurs in scenes taking place in large settings.
Animatics A simplified mock-up to give a better idea of how a scene will look and feel with motion and timing.
Animation The process of creating a progressively altering image that gives the appearance of continuous motion.
Anisotropic Noise Some noise sources show up with a significant orientation in images.
ANSI (acr.) American National Standards Institute.
Answer Print The first print combining picture and sound which is submitted by the laboratory for the customer's approval.
Anti-Aliasing (AA) Filtering of erroneous frequencies that are created during the analog to digital conversion process.
Archetype A universal character modeled upon those that have been appearing in stories since the time of our ancient ancestors.
Archive Footage Video footage that can be used again in other films.
Arc Lamp A lamp that produces light by an electric arc.
Arc Light A lamp that produces light by an electric arc.
Arc Shot Filming the subject through a moving, encircling camera.
Argon A chemical element used inside the bulbs of incandescent lamps to prevent oxidation of their filaments.
Art Director The person in charge of supervising and unifying the vision of the film, video or project.
Artifact Any undesired or unintended alteration in data introduced during the processing of the digital video signal. Most digital artifacts are the result of problems with compression, aliasing and/or error diffusion.
ASA The exposure index or speed rating of a film which denotes the film's sensitivity.
ASCII (acr.) American Standard Code for Information Interchange.
Aside When a film character breaks the imaginary “fourth wall” and speaks directly to the film viewers.
Aspect Ratio The proportional relationship between the image's width and its height. The most common video aspect ratios are 4:3 (1.3:1) and 16:9 (1.7:1).
Asperity Noise Noise that is caused by minute imperfections in the surface of a recording medium.
Assemble Edit A linear method of editing in which new clips are placed one after the other in order to assemble the edit.
Assistant Editor An editor that handles the technical and logistical aspects of editing such as synchronizing sound to picture, cutting in temporary sound effects and music, etc.
Associate Producer (AP) The person who acts as the liaison between a production company and the various personnel involved in the post production process.
Associational Editing Editing of shots for the purposes of comparison or for the contrast of content.
Associative Editing Editing of shots for the purposes of comparison or for the contrast of content.
Asymmetry The absence of or violation of symmetry that are either expected or desired can have important consequences for a system.
Asynchronous A video signal whose timing differs from that of the system reference signal.
Asynchronous Sound Sound which is indigenous to the action but not precisely synchronized with the action
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) A data transmission scheme using self-routing packets of 53 bytes, 48 of which are available for user data.
AU A simple audio file format introduced by Sun Microsystems.
Audible Spectrum When wave motion in the atmosphere has a frequency that lies between 20 and 15,000 Hz it produces a sound which is apparent to the average human.
Audience A group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature, theatre, music, video games or academics in any medium.
Audio-follow-video During video recording, the video signal is usually accompanied by an audio signal.
Audio-to-video Synchronization The relationship of sound ad picture that exists when the movements of speech are perceived to coincide with the sounds of speech.
Audio Bus A mixing network that combines the output of two or more channels.
Audio Effect A recorded or electronically produced sound that matches the visual action taking place onscreen.
Audio Frequency Modulation (AFM) Audio Frequency Modulation (AFM) is an audio recording standard used by VHS Hi-Fi stereo, 8mm and Hi8 video systems. AFM is mono on 8mm systems and stereo on Hi8.
Audio Interchange File Format (AIF) An audio file format developed by Apple Computer to store high quality sampled sound and musical instrument information.
Audio Mixing The result of combining combining audio signals from different sources, such as microphones, instruments, recordings, etc.
Audio Multicore Cable A multi-channel audio cable intended for use with microphone level signals and/or line-level signals
Audio Sequencer The hardware or software based brain of a MIDI studio. It receives, stores and plays back MIDI information in a desired sequence.
Audio Spectrum When wave motion in the atmosphere has a frequency that lies between 20 and 15,000 Hz it produces a sound which is apparent to the average human.
Audio Video Interleave (AVI) A multimedia container format introduced by Microsoft in November 1992 as part of its Video for Windows software
Aural A film element that can be heard (such as an off-screen sound like a dog howling or a gun firing).
Auto Conform The process of automatically recreating the online edit from an EDL file created from the offline edit.
Autoexposure (AE) Camera mode that automatically calculates and adjusts exposure settings to match (as closely as possible) the subject's mid-tone to the mid-tone of the photograph.
Automatic Exposure (AE) Camera mode that automatically calculates and adjusts exposure settings to match (as closely as possible) the subject's mid-tone to the mid-tone of the photograph.
Automatic Gain Control (AGC) A circuit that automatically adjusts the gain of an amplifier based on the relative strength of the input signal. Used to maintain an even output when the audio signal is too low or the scene is poorly lighted.
Automatic Level Control (ALC) Circuitry used to automatically adjust the audio recording level to compensate for variations in input volume.
Automatic Slating A camera attachment which records the film shot and take numbers and a visible sync mark which corresponds to a tone fed to an audio recorder.
AV-sync The relationship of sound ad picture that exists when the movements of speech are perceived to coincide with the sounds of speech.
Available Light General, non-directional, room light not supplied on purpose by the photographer.
Background Actor Accessory talent not essential to a production, assuming some peripheral on-camera role.
Background Artist The person who is involved in the process of animation who establishes the color, style, and mood of a scene drawn by an animation layout artist.
Background Noise The total sound in a given area which is particular to that space.
Backing Track Prerecorded accompaniment for a singer or voiceover actor who then listens through headphones to a replay as he/she performs.
Backlight A light which is generally mounted behind a subject to light the subject's hair and shoulders without illuminating a subject's front.
Back Projection A technique where the actor stands in front of a screen and the background is projected onto the screen behind them.
Baffle In audio, any object designed to reduce airborne sound. In lighting, An opaque or translucent component that blocks the direct sight of a lighting source.
Ballast A component required by fluorescent and HID lighting fixtures.
Ballast Factor The ANSI ballast factor is used in North America to compare the light output (in lumens) of a lamp operated on a ballast compared to the lamp operating on an ANSI reference ballast.
Band-stop Filter A notch filter is a band-stop filter with a narrow stopband (high Q factor).
Bandwidth The maximum amount of bits/second that can travel along a network or channel. Most videos players will allow for automatic scaling a video stream to match the available bandwidth.
Barndoors Folding doors which are mounted on to the front of a light unit in order to control illumination.
Barney A sound-minimizing blanket placed over a camera to reduce the noise emitting from its moving mechanisms.
Baseband A signaling technique in which the signal is transmitted in its original form and not
changed by modulation.
Baud A unit of signaling speed equal to the number of signal events per second. Baud is
equivalent to bits per second in cases where each signal event represents exactly one bit.
Bayonet Connector (BNC) A miniature quick connect/disconnect radio frequency connector used for coaxial cable.
Bayonet Mount A fastening mechanism that allows lenses to be changed rapidly and locked accurately in position.
Best Boy Assistants to their department heads, the gaffer (in charge of electricals) and the key grip (lighting and rigging), respectively.
Best Light A telecine transfer performed in one pass with one color correction setting applied to the whole reel, as opposed to precise scene-by-scene correction.
Betacam Portable, professional camera/recorder format developed by Sony.
Betacam SP An advanced version of Betacam that allows for longer recording and an increased number of audio channels.
Betacam SX A digital version of Betacam SP introduced in 1996, positioned as a cheaper alternative to Digital Betacam.
Betamax (BETA) Betamax was the first home VCR format, developed by Sony.
Bi-level Sync A composite color video signal comprised of sync, color burst and black video.
Bi-Pin Base A lamp base that uses two pins, as implied by its name.
Bidirectional Microphone pickup pattern whereby sound is absorbed equally from two sides only.
Bidirectional Predicted Picture B-frames can contain intra, predicted, or bi-predicted macroblocks. B‑frames can use both previous and forward frames for data reference to get the highest amount of data compression.
Bit Depth The number of bits used that a given device or system can use to represent the color of a pixel. Common color depths include 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit.
Bit Error Rate (BER) In digital transmission, the number of bit errors is the number of received bits of a data stream over a communication channel that have been altered due to noise, interference, distortion or bit synchronization errors.
Bit Error Rate Test (BERT) A testing method for digital communication circuits that uses predetermined stress patterns consisting of a sequence of logical ones and zeros generated by a test pattern generator.
Bitmap The 2-D array of pixels representing video and graphics.
Bit Parallel Transmission of digital video a byte at a time down a multi-conductor cable where each pair of wires carries a single bit.
Bit Rate The rate of binary digits flowing in a digital data-processing system. Bit rates are expressed as the number of bits per second (bps or Kbps) traveling through a digital stream.
Bit Slippage The loss or gain of a bit or bits, caused by clock drift – variations in the respective clock rates of the transmitting and receiving devices.
Bitstream A continuous series of bits transmitted on a line.
Black And Burst A composite color video signal comprised of sync, color burst and black video.
Black And Code Tapes that have been pre-recorded with blank data (a black screen and timecode) before they are used.
Black A Tape A video signal with a blacked-out picture.
Black Burst A composite color video signal comprised of sync, color burst and black video.
Black Level Video black level is defined as the level of brightness at the darkest (black) part of a visual image or the level of brightness at which no light is emitted from a screen, resulting in a pure black screen.
Black Wrap Black aluminum foil for wrapping lights and controlling spill.
Blanking Level The voltage level produced at the end of each horizontal picture line which separates the portion of the video signal containing the picture information from the portion containing the synchronizing information.
Bleeding Video image imperfection characterized by a blurring of color borders; colors spill over defined boundaries, "run" into neighboring areas.
Blimp Housing for the camera or microphone intended to prevent sound equipment from picking up any extra sounds emitting from the camera.
Block The rectangular area of the picture, usually 8 x 8 pixels in size, which are individually subjected to DCT coding as part of a digital picture compression process.
Blocking Plotting the placement and movement of the actors, camera and microphone in a scene.
Blu-ray Disc (BD) A digital optical disc data storage format. It was designed to supersede the DVD format, and is capable of storing several hours of video in high-definition (HDTV 720p and 1080p) and ultra high-definition resolution (2160p).
Blue Screen Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual effects/post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video streams together based on color hues (chroma range).
Board A device to assist in synchronizing of picture and sound, and to designate and mark the various scenes and takes as they are filmed and audio-recorded.
Board Reflector A large white card made of foam or poster board used to reflect soft light.
Bokeh The visual quality of the out-of-focus (blurred) areas of a photographic image.
Book-ending A framing device within which the main plotline is presented as being told or read to another, often embellished by the use of a voice-over narration throughout the film
Boom A telescoping arm for a camera or microphone.
Booming Camera move above or below subject with aid of a balanced "boom arm," creating a sense of floating into or out of a scene.
Boom Microphone A directional microphones mounted on a long pole or arm, positioned over the scene.
Border The boundary between two merged video pictures, as created with chroma key or wipe effects.
Bounce Board A large white card made of foam or poster board used to reflect soft light.
Boundary Microphone A small omnidirectional condenser mic capsule positioned near or flush with a boundary.
Bracketing The general technique of taking several shots of the same subject using different camera settings.
Breakdown A pre-production process where each scene is isolated into its component elements such as props, costumes, and actors.
B Reel Supplemental footage that can be used during production to inter-cut with, and supplement the main shot.
Brightness The perceived amount of light coming from a given source.
Broad A rectangular open-faced light which is used for general fill or for cyc illumination.
Broadband A wide bandwidth channel which transports multiple signals and traffic types. Broadband can refer to media such coaxial cable, optical fiber, radio or twisted pair.
Broadcast FTP Protocol A simple, robust, one-way resource transfer protocol that is designed to efficiently deliver data in a one-way broadcast-only environment.
Brute A brute arc light, usually 225 amps DC powered.
B Story A secondary strand of the plot that is a supporting side story for any story or the main plot.
BT.656 (ITU656) A simple digital video protocol for streaming uncompressed PAL or NTSC Standard Definition TV (525 or 625 lines) signals.
BT.709 A set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen vertically.
Buddy Film A film genre in which two people—often both men—are put together and on an adventure, a quest, or a road trip.
Buffer Underflow A state occurring when a buffer used to communicate between two devices or processes is fed with data at a lower speed than the data is being read from it.
Buffer Underrun A state occurring when a buffer used to communicate between two devices or processes is fed with data at a lower speed than the data is being read from it.
Burn-in Time Code (BITC) A videotape in which a "window" displaying the time code count on the tape is superimposed over part of the picture.
Burst Error Consecutive Block Errors. Burst Errors are usually the result of fingerprints, contamination, scratches, or voids, etc.
Bus A mixing network that combines the output of two or more channels.
Buy Out Music or music libraries in which a one-time fee enables the buyer to legally use the music in many productions without paying additional licensing or "needle drop" fees.
B‑frame B-frames can contain intra, predicted, or bi-predicted macroblocks. B‑frames can use both previous and forward frames for data reference to get the highest amount of data compression.
B‑frames In the field of video compression, a video frame is compressed using different algorithms with different advantages and disadvantages, centered mainly around the amount of data compression.
Cable Box (STB) A device that is connected to a television so that it can receive digital signals.
Cable Television (CATV) A system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fiber-optic cables.
Call Sheet A form which refers to all of the scenes to be filmed and all of the personnel and equipment required for shooting on a particular day.
Camcorder Combination of camera and video tape recorder in one device. Camcorders permit easy and rapid photography and recording simultaneously.
Cameo Lighting A spotlight that accentuates a single person and maybe a few props in a scene.
Camera Angle The view point chosen from which to photograph a subject.
Camera Blocking The process of notating the changing position of the camera, lens size, and focus during a particular scene.
Camera Coverage The process of shooting additional footage and camera angles to cover the action in the scene so that the editor has a greater range of choices when the film reaches the post production stage.
Camera Dolly Camera support mounted on wheels enabling smooth movement in any direction.
Camera Jib A boom device with a camera on one end, and a counterweight and camera controls on the other.
Camlock A feeder cable connector which is similar to a Tweco, but with a more positive locking mechanism which is easier to disconnect.
Candela (CD) The luminous power per unit solid angle emitted by a point light source in a particular direction.
Cannon (XLR) One of several varieties of sound connectors having three or more conductors plus an outer shell which shields the connectors and locks the connectors into place.
Canted Angle A device or process whereby the camera is angled so that the horizontal frame line is not parallel to the horizon.
Canted Frame A device or process whereby the camera is angled so that the horizontal frame line is not parallel to the horizon.
Capacitance An electrical component's ability to store electrical charges.
Capacitance Electronic Disc (CED) Grooved, plastic videodisc, 12" in diameter, data recorded in pits at the bottom of the grooves
& read by an electronic stylus.
Cardioid Microphone The most common type of unidirectional microphone; pickup pattern resembles a heart-shaped figure.
Causal Prediction An audience’s unconscious forecasting of what will happen in a standard plot based on certain known causes and effects.
Cause And Effect In scriptwriting, a linear sequence of events that logically progress from one to the other, with the prior action “causing” the latter to happen.
Cave Effect An effect that occurs when lighting fixtures direct all of their lightings downward and little or no light is reflected back up towards the ceiling or upper wall portions.
CCIR System B CCIR System B was the 625-line analog broadcast television system which at its peak was the system used in most countries.
CCIR System G An analog broadcast television system used for the European UHF system, which is also used in the majority of Asian and African countries.
CCIR System H An analog broadcast television system primarily used in Belgium, the Balkans and Malta on the UHF bands.
CCIR System I An analog broadcast television system first used in the Republic of Ireland starting in 1962.
CCIR System J The analog television system and video display standard for the region of Japan that ceased operations in 44 of the country's 47 prefectures on July 24, 2011
CCIR System M The analog broadcast television system used in the United States since July 1, 1941, and also in most of the Americas and Caribbean, South Korea, and Taiwan.
Changeover Cue A visible mark on a film release print to tell the projectionist to change the reel.
Channel One of several grayscale components used to make up a color image.
Channel Coding Data encoding and error correction techniques used to protect the integrity of data that is being transported through a channel.
Character In scriptwriting, an entity that holds an important place in the telling of a story.
Character Arc The gradual transformation or inner journey of a character over the course of a story.
Character Development The gradual transformation or inner journey of a character over the course of a story.
Character Generator (CG) Device or software which electronically produces letters, numbers, symbols, and other graphic displays for on-screen video titling.
Characterization An actor’s interpretation of a role in the performance of dramatic literature.
Charge-coupled Device (CCD) A semiconductor chip with a light-sensitive grid used for converting images to electrical signals. CCD is the core technology behind digital photography and video.
Cheater Cut Introductory footage at the beginning of a series episode to overview what happened in the previous episode.
Checksum A simple check value of a block of data, calculated by adding all the bytes in a block.
Chroma (C) The chromaticity, or value of hue and saturation, for a given color.
Chroma Corrector A device used to correct problems related to the chroma of the video signal, as well as color balance and color noise.
Chroma Key Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual effects/post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video streams together based on color hues (chroma range).
Chroma Noise Noise which manifests itself in a video picture as colored snow.
Chroma Subsampling The practice of encoding images by implementing less resolution for chroma information than for luma information, taking advantage of the human visual system's lower acuity for color differences than for luminance.
Chromatic Aberration (CA) Problem caused by the camera lens' inability to bring the colors to a focus at the same point.
Chromaticity Measurement of color quality expressed by the combination of hue and saturation.
Chrominance (C) The chromaticity, or value of hue and saturation, for a given color.
Chrominance Subcarrier The 3.58 MHz/NTSC (4.43 MHz/PAL) signal added to a black and white television signal to add color information. The subcarrier frequency is too high to be detected by black and white televisions ensuring compatibility.
Chyron Text on the bottom of the screen that is used to describe the time, place or characters in the scene.
CIE 1931 An organization founded in 1913 that creates international standards related to light and color.
CIELAB (LAB) A color space defined by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) in 1976, designed so that the same amount of numerical change in these values corresponds to roughly the same amount of visually perceived change.
CIEXYZ An organization founded in 1913 that creates international standards related to light and color.
Cinch Marks Scratches on a film roll that run parallel to its edge, commonly caused by improper film winding.
Cinemascope A trade name for a system of anamorphic widescreen projection.
Cinematic Language The combination of images (visual and aural) that tell a story without using words.
Cinematographer The chief over the camera and light crews working on a film, television production or other live action piece and is responsible for making artistic and technical decisions related to the image.
Cinepak A high-quality medium bandwidth compression that is not real-time but can play back in software.
Circuit Breaker Electrical protection device that is normally located within a distribution board.
Clacker A device to assist in synchronizing of picture and sound, and to designate and mark the various scenes and takes as they are filmed and audio-recorded.
Clapboard A device to assist in synchronizing of picture and sound, and to designate and mark the various scenes and takes as they are filmed and audio-recorded.
Clapper A device to assist in synchronizing of picture and sound, and to designate and mark the various scenes and takes as they are filmed and audio-recorded.
Clapperboard A device to assist in synchronizing of picture and sound, and to designate and mark the various scenes and takes as they are filmed and audio-recorded.
Clay Animation The process of animating and filming characters built out of clay.
Claymation The process of animating and filming characters built out of clay.
Click And Drag The operation of clicking on an item and dragging it to a new location on a computer screen.
Click Track A prerecorded track of electronic metronomic clicks used to ensure proper timing of music to be recorded.
Cliff Effect When a receiver can no longer receive a viable signal.
Climax In scriptwriting, the point of highest tension and drama, or it is the time when the action starts during which the solution is given.
Clip A short piece of video or audio that is usually part of a larger recording.
Clip Bin A nonlinear editing term for the location of individual audio/video clips (or scenes).
Clipped Whites Peaks in the luminance signal that have been cut off at certain value to prevent them from exceeding the limits of the video system.
Clipping The distortion of an audio or video signal, resulting in the high amplitude peaks being cut off. Clipping is often caused by the overloading of amplifier circuits.
Clip Sheet A nonlinear editing term for the location of individual audio/video clips (or scenes).
Clock Frequency The frequency at which the clock generator of a processor can generate pulses, which are used to synchronize the operations of its components, and is used as an indicator of the processor's speed.
Clock Jitter The deviation from the true periodicity of a presumably periodic signal, often in relation to a reference clock signal.
Clock Phase Deviation A phenomenon in synchronous digital circuit systems (such as computer systems) in which the same sourced clock signal arrives at different components at different times.
Clock Recovery The process of extracting timing information from a serial data stream to allow the receiving circuit to decode the transmitted symbols.
Clock Skew A phenomenon in synchronous digital circuit systems (such as computer systems) in which the same sourced clock signal arrives at different components at different times.
Clone A hardware or software system that is designed to function in the same way as another system.
Closed-circuit Television (CCTV) A video system used in many commercial installations for specific purposes such as security, medical and educational.
Closed Captioning (CC) Captions added to the program for the hearing impaired and for other purposes.
Close Up (CU) A type of shot taken at close range that tightly frames the subject.
Color-Timed Master (CTM) A fully graded version of a movie using its high-resolution source footage.
Color Bars (SMPTE) A test pattern used on analog televisions conforming to the NTSC video standard.
Colorburst In a color television signal, a generated analog video signal used to keep the chrominance sub-carrier synchronized.
Color Burst An analog video, composite video signal generated by a video-signal generator used to keep the chrominance subcarrier synchronized in a color television signal.
Color Compensating Filter Color compensating filters made in precise density values of the primary and secondary colors.
Color Correction A process in which the coloring in a television image is altered or corrected by electronic means.
Color Decoder A device which divides a video signal into its basic color components. In TV and video, color decoding is used to derive signals required by a video monitor from the composite or Y/C signals.
Color Depth The number of bits used that a given device or system can use to represent the color of a pixel. Common color depths include 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit.
Colorfulness An attribute of perceived color relating to chromatic intensity.
Color Grading The process of improving the appearance of an image for presentation in different environments on different devices.
Colorization Special effect (also called paint) which colors a monochrome or color image with artificial colors.
Color Phase The phase of the chroma signal as compared to the color burst, is one of the factors that determines a video signal's color balance.
Color Processing The process of improving the appearance of an image for presentation in different environments on different devices.
Color Rendering Index (CRI) A quantitative measure of the ability of a light source to reveal the colors of various objects faithfully in comparison with an ideal or natural light source.
Color Subcarrier The 3.58 MHz/NTSC (4.43 MHz/PAL) signal added to a black and white television signal to add color information. The subcarrier frequency is too high to be detected by black and white televisions ensuring compatibility.
Color Temperature The temperature of an ideal black-body radiator that radiates light of a color comparable to that of the light source.
Color Timing The process of improving the appearance of an image for presentation in different environments on different devices.
Comet Tailing A smear of light resulting from the inability of camera's pickup to process bright objects -- especially in darker settings. Object or camera in motion creates the appearance of a flying fireball.
Communication Protocol A specific software-based protocol or language for linking several devices together.
Compact Disc (CD) Digitally encoded disc capable of containing more than one hour of audio at a sampling frequency of 44.1 khz. The data is read by a laser beam.
Completion Bond An insurance policy that guarantees a film will be completed and delivered with the agreed script, cast, and budget.
Completion Guarantee An insurance policy that guarantees a film will be completed and delivered with the agreed script, cast, and budget.
Component Digital A digital representation of a component analog signal set.
Component Video A video signal that has been split into two or more component channels. In popular use, it refers to a type of component analog video (CAV) information that is transmitted or stored as three separate signals.
Component Video Sync A signal consisting of horizontal sync pulses, vertical sync pulses and equalizing pulses only.
Composite Character In scriptwriting, a composite is a character based on more than one individual from the preceding story, usually the author.
Composite Monitor A video monitor which accepts analog* signals. The signals transmitted to an analog monitor are usually between 0 and 1 V and use 75 ohm coaxial cables.
Composite Sync A signal consisting of horizontal sync pulses, vertical sync pulses and equalizing pulses only.
Composite Video (SD) A composite (analog) video transmission carrier of standard definition video over a single channel.
Compositing The combining of visual elements from separate sources into single images, often to create the illusion that all those elements are parts of the same scene.
Composition Visual make-up of a video picture, including such variables as balance, framing, field of view and texture all aesthetic considerations. Combined qualities form an image that’s pleasing to view.
Compression An encoding process that results in a decrease in the number of bits required to store data.
Compression Artefact A noticeable distortion of media (including images, audio, and video) caused by the application of lossy compression.
Compression Artifact A noticeable distortion of media (including images, audio, and video) caused by the application of lossy compression.
Compression Ratio Data compression ratio, also known as compression power, is a measurement of the relative reduction in size of data representation produced by a data compression algorithm.
Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) The process of generating and animating elements in a computer to be seamlessly composited into a scene as if the elements were present when it was shot.
Concept Art A form of illustration used to convey an idea for use in films, video games, animation, comic books, or other media before it is put into the final product.
Conditional Access (CA) A method by which one can obfuscate a digital-television stream, with access provided only to those with valid decryption smart-cards.
Confidant In scriptwriting, the confidant (/ˈkɒnfɪdænt/ or /ˌkɒnfɪˈdɑːnt/; feminine: confidante, same pronunciation) is a character in a story whom a protagonist confides in and trusts.
Conflict In scriptwriting, conflict is the challenge main characters need to solve to achieve their goals.
Conforming Online editing to create the final edit master. The offline edit master is used as a guide.
Constant Bitrate (CBR) The delivery of multimedia where there is dedicated bandwidth and the data can be delivered at a guaranteed constant bit rate.
Contingency Money set aside in a budget to cover unforeseen costs.
Continuity The consistency of the characteristics of people, plot, objects, and places seen by the reader or viewer over some period of time.
Continuity Editing The logical succession of recorded or edited events, necessitating consistent placement of props, positioning of characters, and progression of time.
Continuity Report A detailed list of occurrences during the shooting of a scene with the aim of tracking, and therefore compensating for, any changed elements that may affect continuity.
Continuous Action Action moving through multiple locations without interruptions.
Contouring Digital video picture defects caused quantizing at too coarse a level.
Contrast The difference in luminance intensity, or color, that allows objects in an image distinguishable.
Contrast Ratio A measure of the difference in luminance intensity, or color, that allows objects in an image distinguishable.
Contrazoom In-camera effect that appears to undermine normal visual perception.
Control-L (LANC) Sony's wired edit control protocol which allows two-way communication between a camcorder or VCR and an edit controller such as the Thumbs Up.
Control Track The magnetized portion along the length of a videotape on which sync* control information is placed. The control track contains a pulse for each video field and is used to synchronize the tape and the video signal.
Cookie A device for casting shadows or silhouettes to produce patterned illumination.
Cool White A light source with a correlated color temperature of around 4100K
Coverage The process of shooting additional footage and camera angles to cover the action in the scene so that the editor has a greater range of choices when the film reaches the post production stage.
Crop Factor The crop factor, format factor or focal length multiplier of an image sensor format is the ratio of the dimensions of a camera's imaging area compared to a reference format; most often, this term is applied to digital cameras, relative to 35 mm film format as a reference.
Cropping The removal of unwanted areas from a video or still image.
Cross-conversion The process of converting from one high definition video standard to another. The opposite of up- or down-conversion.
Cross-cutting In editing method whereby related shots are inserted into a series of other shots for the purpose of contrast or for some other effect.
Cross Cut An editing technique most often used in films to establish action occurring at the same time, and usually in the same place.
Cross Dissolve A video transition that fades the end of the preceding clip into the beginning of the next.
Crossfade The gradual mix of sound sources accomplished by the simultaneous manipulation of two or more mix console faders.
Cross Screen Filter Filter mounted at front of the camera lens gives videotaped light sources a starburst effect.
Crosstalk The visual or auditory result of the coupling of electronic circuits across separate channels.
Crushed Blacks Reduced detail in the shadow areas of an image caused by under-exposing the image.
Cucoloris A device for casting shadows or silhouettes to produce patterned illumination.
Cue To determine the desired initial playback point in a piece of recorded music.
Cue Blip A visible mark on a film release print to tell the projectionist to change the reel.
Cue Card A card with the actor's lines written on it to enable the actor to read or remember his lines.
Cue Dot A visible mark on a film release print to tell the projectionist to change the reel.
Cue Mark A visible mark on a film release print to tell the projectionist to change the reel.
Cue Sheet A list of music used in production for the purposes of obtaining usage rights.
Cut The selection and assembly of the various shots or sequences for a reel of film.
Cutaway A single shot inserted into a sequence of shots that momentarily interrupts the flow of action, usually introducing a pertinent detail.
Cutoff Angle Viewing angle beyond it is no longer possible to see a light source directly, measured from the direction exactly below the lamp (nadir).
Cuts-Only Editing Editing limited to immediate shifts from one scene to another, without smoother image transition capabilities such as dissolving or wiping.
Cutting On Action The process of aligning or overlapping the shots of a film sequence in order to achieve a smooth transition from the action in one shot to the action of the succeeding shot.
Cyan A blue-green color which is the complementary color to red.
Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) An error-detecting code commonly used in digital networks and storage devices to detect accidental changes to raw data.
Cyc Light Row lights for evenly illuminating a cyclorama or other background.
Cyclorama Permanent background built in a studio which is nearly always coved or curved at the floor line to create a shadowless, unending backdrop.
D-1 (D1) An SMPTE digital recording video standard, introduced in 1986 through efforts by SMPTE engineering committees.
D-2 (D2) A professional digital videocassette format created by Ampex and introduced on 1988 at the NAB Show as a composite video alternative to the component video D-1 format.
D-3 (D3) An uncompressed composite digital video videocassette format invented at NHK and introduced commercially by Panasonic in 1991 to compete with Ampex's D-2.
D-4 (D4) A recording tape format was never developed because the number 4 is considered unlucky in Japan.
D-5 (D5) A tape format developed by Panasonic that uses the same 1/2 inch tapes as D3.
D-5 HD (D5) D-5 HD uses standard D-5 videotape videotapes to record HD material, using an intra-frame compression with a 4:1 ratio.
D-7 (D7) A variation of DV developed by Panasonic and introduced in 1995 for use in electronic news gathering (ENG) equipment.
D-9 (D9) A professional digital video videocassette format created by JVC in 1995.
D-9 HD A high definition digital component format based on D9. Records on 1/2-inch tape with 100 Mbps video.
D-Beta (DBC) A tape format that supersedes both Betacam and Betacam SP, while costing significantly less than the first, 100% uncompressed D1 format.
D-Cinema (DC) The use of digital technology to distribute or project motion pictures as opposed to the historical use of reels of motion picture film, such as 35 mm film.
D-ILA (LCOS) A miniaturized reflective active-matrix liquid-crystal display or "microdisplay" using a liquid crystal layer on top of a silicon backplane.
Data-rate Units A way to express the average number of bits (bitrate) passed between two points in a fixed timeframe. Most common units are bit/s, kbps, Mpbs and Gbps.
Data Compression An encoding process that results in a decrease in the number of bits required to store data.
Daylight Harvesting A lighting design strategy that maximizes the use of natural light to reduce energy costs and create indoor spaces that feel natural and appealing.
Daylight Lamp A lamp with a CCT value comparable to that of daylight, generally between 5500K and 6500K.
DCI 4K Ultra-high-definition television (also known as Ultra HD television, Ultra HD, UHDTV, UHD and Super Hi-Vision) today includes 4K UHD and 8K UHD, which are two digital video formats with an aspect ratio of 16:9.
De-essing An exaggerated hissing in voice patterns.
Dead Band A place in which a sound waves are canceled by reflections arriving out of phase with the wanted signal thus creating an area of silence or poor audibility.
Dead Spot A place in which a sound waves are canceled by reflections arriving out of phase with the wanted signal thus creating an area of silence or poor audibility.
Dead Zone A place in which a sound waves are canceled by reflections arriving out of phase with the wanted signal thus creating an area of silence or poor audibility.
Decay The time it takes for a sound or musical note to go from peak amplitude (attack) to the sustain level.
Decibel (DB) In audio, a measurement of sound pressure level.
Decode The process of reading data in one format and outputting it in another, usually for the purpose of converting from a compressed format to one capable of being displayed on a monitor.
Decoder A circuit or chip in cameras and other input devices that converts video signals from analog to digital.
Deep Focus A style of cinematography and staging that uses relatively wide angle lenses and small lens apertures by maintaining objects in the extreme background and foreground simultaneously focused.
Definition The aggregate of fine details available on-screen.
Degausser A device used to erase recordings on magnetic tapes and films or to demagnetize magnetic recording heads.
Degradation The loss of quality of an electronic signal, which may be categorized as either graceful or catastrophic.
Deinterlacing The process of converting interlaced video, such as common analog television signals or 1080i format HDTV signals, into a non-interlaced form.
Delay Correction When an electronic signal travels through electronic circuitry or even through long coaxial cable runs, delay problems may occur. This is manifested as a displaced image and special electronic circuitry is needed to correct it.
Demodulation An electronic circuit which separates the audio and video signals from the RF* carrier frequency.
Demo Reel A short piece of edited video or film footage showcasing a person's previous work.
Demultiplexing A reverse multiplexing process that extracts the original channels on the receiver end.
Demux A reverse multiplexing process that extracts the original channels on the receiver end.
Denouement In scriptwriting, the final resolution or conclusion of an intricate plot.
Depth Of Field (DOF) In an image , the distance between the closest and the farthest objects that are acceptably sharp.
Depth Of Focus The distance between the camera lens and the film or CCD that can be altered without blurring the iimage.
Descriptive Video Service (DVS) Descriptive Video Service provides a description of the setting and action of a film for those who cannot see using the second audio track of the video.
Desibilizing An exaggerated hissing in voice patterns.
Desktop Video (DTV) The fusion of personal computers and home video components for elaborate videomaking capabilities rivaling those of well-financed broadcast facilities.
Deutsches Institut Für Normung (DIN) An international connector standard. DIN connectors carry both audio and video signals and are common on equipment in Europe.
Dialogue In scriptwriting, a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange.
Dialogue, Music And Effects (DME) A file with dialogue, music and effects split into separate stems for foreign language dubbing or trailer editing.
Diaphragm In a camera, a component designed to control amount of peripheral light going through the lens aperture.
Diegetic Sound The sound that is present and/or captured during the recording of the video.
Difference Key A matte extraction technique that separates a subject from its background using pixel value differences between the two.
Diffused Light Light produced by an extended surface, either directly or through reflection.
Diffuser Gauzy or translucent material that alters the quality of light passing through it to produce less intense, flatter lighting with weaker, less noticeable shadows.
Diffusion Placing materials in front of a light source in order to reduce the light’s harshness.
Diffusion Filter Mounted at front of camcorder lens, gives videotaped images a foggy, fuzzy, dreamy look.
Digi (DBC) A tape format that supersedes both Betacam and Betacam SP, while costing significantly less than the first, 100% uncompressed D1 format.
DigiBeta (DBC) A tape format that supersedes both Betacam and Betacam SP, while costing significantly less than the first, 100% uncompressed D1 format.
Digicam A camera that captures photographs in digital memory.
Digital-S (D9) A professional digital video videocassette format created by JVC in 1995.
Digital Audio Sounds that have been converted to digital information.
Digital Audio Tape (DAT) A signal recording and playback medium developed by Sony and introduced in 1987.
Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) Two-channel digital audio has become increasingly common as a professional master reference and for use in field recording.
Digital Betacam (DBC) A tape format that supersedes both Betacam and Betacam SP, while costing significantly less than the first, 100% uncompressed D1 format.
Digital Camera A camera that captures photographs in digital memory.
Digital Cinema (DC) The use of digital technology to distribute or project motion pictures as opposed to the historical use of reels of motion picture film, such as 35 mm film.
Digital Cinema Package (DCP) A collection of digital files used to store and convey digital cinema (DC) audio, image, and data streams.
Digital Data Storage (DDS) A computer data storage technology that is based upon the digital audio tape (DAT) format that was developed during the 1980s.
Digital Disk Recorder (HDR) A system that uses a high-capacity hard disk to record digital audio or digital video. Hard disk recording systems represent an alternative to reel-to-reel audio tape recording and videotape recorders and provide editing capabilities unavailable to tape recorders.
Digital Imaging Technician (DIT) A person that works with a digital cinematographer on technical aspects such as workflow and image manipulation to achieve the desired result.
Digital Intermediate (DI) The process of digitizing a film, manipulating the color and other characteristics and then re-outputting to film. It differs from the telecine process in that the final output is film, not tape.
Digitalization The process of converting a continuous analog video or audio signal to digital data (ones and zeros) for computer storage.
Digital Light Processing (DLP) A set of chipsets based on optical micro-electro-mechanical technology that uses a digital micromirror device.
Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) Micro-mirror display solution technology that uses an optical semiconductor to manipulate light digitally.
Digital Recording A method of recording in which samples of the original analog signal are encoded on tape or disk as binary information for storage or processing.
Digital Satellite Service (DSS) The initialism expansion of the DSS digital satellite television transmission system used by DirecTV.
Digital Signal The result of the conversion of the original (analog) video signal into a pattern of bits. A digital signal has a discrete value at each sampling point, and its precision is a factor of how many samples get converted per unit of time.
Digital Signal 0 (DS0) A basic digital signaling rate of 64 kilobits per second (kbit/s), corresponding to the capacity of one analog voice-frequency-equivalent communication channel.
Digital Signal 3 (DS3) A terrestrial and satellite format for transmitting information digitally.
Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) A digital camera that combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor, as opposed to photographic film.
Digital Television Can refer to the digital video and audio signals that are broadcasted, or the digital television sets that decode the incoming signals.
Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) A technology for terrestrial television in which land-based (terrestrial) television stations broadcast television content by radio waves to televisions in consumers' residences in a digital format.
Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting (DTT) A technology for terrestrial television in which land-based (terrestrial) television stations broadcast television content by radio waves to televisions in consumers' residences in a digital format.
Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial (DVB-T) The DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in Singapore in February 1998.
Digital Video Effect (DVE) Electronic analog-to-digital picture modification yielding specialty image patterns and maneuvers: tumbling, strobing, page-turning, mosaic, posterization, solarization, etc.
Digital Videotape Recorder (DVTR) A device that can store an electronic representation of moving visual images (video) in the form of encoded digital data.
Digital Visual Interface (DVI) A video display interface developed by the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG). The digital interface is used to connect a video source, such as a video display controller, to a display device, such as a computer monitor.
Digital Zoom A method of decreasing the apparent angle of view of a digital photographic or video image.
Digitization The process of converting a continuous analog video or audio signal to digital data (ones and zeros) for computer storage.
Dimensionality Richness of atmosphere or texture added to a film by means of smaller elements such as supporting characters, background actions or dialogue, or small details of the design.
DIN Connector An international connector standard. DIN connectors carry both audio and video signals and are common on equipment in Europe.
Dirac An open and royalty-free video compression format, specification and system developed by BBC Research & Development.
Direct Broadcast Via Satellite (DBS) An alternative to cable and analog satellite reception initially utilizing a fixed 18-inch dish focused on one or more geostationary satellites.
Directed Light The light produced by point surfaces, which results in a concentrated output that accentuates edges and shadows.
Directing The Eye The use of lighting to emphasize what is important in the shot.
Direct Lighting Lighting where more than 90% of the light goes directly from the source to the area you wish to illuminate.
Director The person who directs the making of a film, controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of that vision.
Director's Cut An edited version of a film (or television episode, music video, commercial, or video game) that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit.
Director Of Photography The chief over the camera and light crews working on a film, television production or other live action piece and is responsible for making artistic and technical decisions related to the image.
Direct Sound When sound and image are recorded at the same time.
Disc Description Protocol (DDP) A standard way of specifying what data is supplied, what processing is required, and exactly where the data is to be placed on the CD.Digital Data Storage.
Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) A method of data compression of digital video pictures by resolving blocks of the picture into frequencies, amplitudes, and colors.
Display Device An appliance, such as a monitor or television, that present the video signal in visual or tactile form.
Dissolve A transition between two scenes where the first merges imperceptibly into the second.
Distortion The deviation in shape or structure from the original shape or structure of an image or sound.
Distribution Amplifier (DA) A device that amplifies and distributes an original signal to multiple, isolated locations (outputs) without distortion: a WI-fi router, a television station antenna, etc.
Dolby 5.1 Six-channel (five speakers and one subwoofer for bass) digital surround sound system by Dolby.
Dolby Digital Audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories.
Dolby E An audio data compression and decoding technology that allows 6 to 8 channels of audio to be compressed into an AES3 digital audio stream that can be stored as a standard stereo pair of digital audio tracks.
Dolby SR A noise reduction format was developed by Dolby Laboratories and has been in common use in professional audio since 1986 and in cinema audio since the late 1980s.
Dolly A wheeled camera platform used for creating moving shots.
Dolly Zoom In-camera effect that appears to undermine normal visual perception.
Dot Crawl A visual defect of color analog video standards when signals are transmitted as composite video, as in terrestrial broadcast television.
Double-system Recording A technique where production sound is recorded on a separate device to the camera.
Down-conversion Converting from a higher quality format to a lower one.
Downstream Keying (DSK) An effect available in some special effects generators* and video mixers in which one video signal is keyed on top of another video signal.
Driver Piece of electronic equipment that transforms the main supply voltage into a lower DC voltage that is appropriate for LED lighting.
Drop-frame Timecode Timecode that is modified to remain in sync when 29.97 fps NTSC video is broadcast at 30 fps.
Drop-In The process of inserting recorded audio by playing up to a chosen point and switching from playback to record mode.
Drop And Insert (D/I) A point in the transmission where portions of the digital signal can be dropped out and/or inserted.
Dropout A momentary partial or complete loss of picture and/or sound caused by such things as dust, dirt on the videotape or heads, crumpled videotape or flaws in the oxide layer of magnetic tape.
Dry Gate A telecine process in which the film is scanned with no fluid present. The opposite of a wet gate.
Dubbing A process used in filmmaking and video production in which additional or supplementary recordings are "mixed" with original production sound to create the finished soundtrack.
Dunning Combining studio-filmed shots with background footage that has been filmed in a different place.
Dupe A copy of a film negative. Short for duplicate negative.
Dust Bust The process of removing dust, dirt, and scratches from a frame.
Dutch Angle A device or process whereby the camera is angled so that the horizontal frame line is not parallel to the horizon.
Dutch Tilt A device or process whereby the camera is angled so that the horizontal frame line is not parallel to the horizon.
Duvetyne Heavy black cloth used for blacking out windows and many other purposes.
DVCPRO (D7) A variation of DV developed by Panasonic and introduced in 1995 for use in electronic news gathering (ENG) equipment.
DVD A digital optical videodisc format that can store much more video, audio, and computer data than the common CD. Like a CD, it is ca. 4 3/4 in. (12 cm.) in diameter.
Dynamic Distortion Alteration of volume range of a sound when it is transmitted.
Dynamic Frame The narrowing and widening of a frame to fit an appropriate ratio for the scene.
Dynamic Microphone Microphone type, also called "moving coil." Works much like a loudspeaker in reverse, employing a simple magnet and wire coil to convert sound waves into an electrical signal.
Dynamic Rounding Dynamic Rounding is a technique devised by Quantel for truncating the word length of pixels – an unavoidable process when processing images.
Ear A flag up on the side of a lighting unit to block light.
Echo A reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound.
Edge Numbers A series of numbers with key lettering printed along the edge of a 35 mm negative at intervals of one foot (16 frames or 64 perforations) and on a 16 mm negative at intervals of six inches (twenty frames).
Edit Process or result of selectively recording video and/or audio on finished videotape.
Edit Conflict A computer problem that may occur when multiple editors edit the same file during a short time period.
Edit Decision List (EDL) A list that contains an ordered list of reel and timecode data representing where each video clip can be obtained in order to conform the final cut.
Edit Master The recording media containing the completed/edited program.
Editor The technician who assembles a movie from raw footage.
Edit Point The location in a video where a production event occurs. (e.g., dissolve or wipe from one scene to another)
Edit Points The beginning and end points of an edit when a video program or soundtrack is being assembled.
EIA Multiport An audio/video connector used in consumer equipment, especially in Europe.
Eisensteinian Montage Editing of shots for the purposes of comparison or for the contrast of content.
Electret Condenser Microphone type incorporating a precharged element, eliminating need for bulky power sources.
Electric Arc A lighting unit that generates illumination from an electrical arc between two carbon electrodes.
Electronic Ballast A subtype of ballast that uses power electronics to provide a high-frequency voltage and controlled current for fluorescent lamps.
Electronic Field Production (EFP) Film-style production approach using a single camera to record on location. Typically shot for post-production application, non-live feed.
Electronic News-gathering (ENG) Use of portable video cameras, lighting and sound equipment to record news events in the field quickly, conveniently, and efficiently.
Electronic Program Guide (EPG) An application that provides an on-screen listing of all programming and content that an interactive television service subscriber or digital television viewer has available to them.
Ellipsoidal Reflector Spotlight (ERS) A type of stage lighting instrument, named for the ellipsoidal reflector used to collect and direct the light through a barrel that contains a lens or lens train.
Embedded Audio Digital audio that is multiplexed and carried within an SDI connection.
Emulsion The photo sensitive layer on a piece of film or paper.
Encode The process of writing data to a different format, usually for the purpose of compressing to a smaller size.
Encryption The process of encoding a message or information in such a way that only authorized parties can access it and those who are not authorized cannot.
Equalization The sound in a room. It is recorded and intercut with dialogue to smooth out any editing points.
Era In scriptwriting, a historical time and place that serves as the setting or “special world” of a story.
Error Concealment In digital video recording systems, a technique used when error correction fails. Erroneous data is replaced by data synthesized from surrounding pixels.
Error Correction In digital video recording systems, a scheme that adds overhead to the data to permit a certain level of errors to be detected and corrected.
Error Correction Code (ECC) A block of check data used for controlling errors in data over unreliable or noisy communication channels.
Error Detection In digital video recording systems, a scheme that adds overhead to the data to permit a certain level of errors to be detected and corrected.
Exposition The insertion of background information within a story or narrative.
Exposure The amount of light per unit area reaching the image sensor, as determined by shutter speed, lens aperture and scene luminance. A higher exposure will result in a brighter picture.
Extra Accessory talent not essential to a production, assuming some peripheral on-camera role.
Extreme Close Up (XCU) The shot is so tight that only a detail of the subject, such as someone's eyes, can be seen.
Eyeline Match A technique where the editor cuts to a shot of something that a character is looking at off-screen.
F-number Numbers corresponding to the variable size of the camera's iris opening, and thus amount of light passing through the lens. The higher the number, the less light enters.
F-ratio Numbers corresponding to the variable size of the camera's iris opening, and thus amount of light passing through the lens. The higher the number, the less light enters.
F-stop Numbers corresponding to the variable size of the camera's iris opening, and thus amount of light passing through the lens. The higher the number, the less light enters.
Fade The visual transition between an image and a black screen.
Fauxtography Digitally manipulated photograph. Alternatively: using a camera and telling your subject you’re taking a photo, but secretly taking a video!
FHD A set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen vertically.
Fiber Optics hin glass filaments within a jacket that optically transmits images or signals in the form of light around corners and over distances with extremely low losses.
Fibre Channel (FC) A high-speed data transfer protocol (commonly running at 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 128 gigabit per second rates) providing in-order, lossless delivery of raw block data.
Field One-half of a complete television picture consisting of one complete vertical scan of the video image containing 262.5 line for NTSC and 312.5 lines for PAL. Two fields make up a complete television picture frame.
Field Rate The number of times in a second that a display hardware updates its buffer.
Filament The wire coil that is heated to produce lighting in incandescent and halogen lamps, normally made from tungsten.
File Footage Video footage that can be used again in other films.
File Format The size or aspect ratio of a motion picture frame.
Fill Leader Film leader used to fill in the blanks in picture workprint
Fill Light The light that provides a soft-edged field of light used to provide additional subject illumination to reduce harsh shadows or areas not highlighted by the key light.
Film A dramatic performance recorded as a moving image, whether on film, videotape or digital media.
Film Chain Projectors, multiplexors and cameras, connected for the purpose of transferring film to video.
Film Crew A group of people, hired by a production company, for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture.
Film Director The person who directs the making of a film, controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of that vision.
Film Frame One of the many still images which compose the complete moving picture.
Film Grain The grain of photographic film is a signal-dependent noise, with similar statistical distribution to shot noise.
Film Leader A length of film attached to the head or tail of a film to assist in threading a projector or telecine.
Filmmaking The process of making a film, generally in the sense of films intended for extensive theatrical exhibition.
Film Noir Usually refers to the classic black and white film noir style used in detective mysteries, typically employing hard lighting and dark, low key lighting.
Film Perforations (PERF) Square holes in the side of a roll of film that is used to wind it through the camera or projector's mechanism.
Film Production The process of making a film, generally in the sense of films intended for extensive theatrical exhibition.
Film Score The original-music composition for a motion picture or television production which is generally recorded after the picture has been edited.
Film Stock A term to describe a film that is used for shooting and reproduction.
Filmstrip A form of still image instructional multimedia, once commonly used by educators in primary and secondary schools (K-12), overtaken at the end of the 1980s by newer and increasingly lower-cost full-motion videocassettes and later on by DVDs.
Film Treatment A piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards (index cards) and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play.
Filter A transparent material having the ability to absorb certain wavelengths of light and transmit others.
Firewire An interface standard that is commonly used for connecting hard drives and cameras to computers.
Flare Bright flashes and/or extreme contrast reduction evident in picture, caused by excessive light beaming into a camera's lens and reflecting off its internal glass elements
Flashback An interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point in the story.
Flash Cut A very quick shot that can have an almost subliminal effect. These shots can sometimes be as short as one frame.
Flat A term used to describe a film that was not shot with an anamorphic lens.
Flat Lighting Illumination characterized by even, diffused light without shadows, highlights, or contrast.
Flex File A computer-generated file that establishes the relationship between timecode, keykode and often audio timecode.
Flicker The alternation of light and dark which can be visually perceived.
Floodlight Radiates a diffused, scattered blanket of light with soft, indistinct shadow
Flop To position an image back-to-front so that the left side is now positioned on the right and vice versa.
Flop-over An optical effect in which the picture is shown reversed from left to right.
Fluid Head Tripod mount type containing viscous fluid which lubricates moving parts, dampens friction. Design facilitates smooth camera moves, alleviates jerkiness.
Fluorescent Lamp A low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light.
Flutter The rapid variation of amplitude, phase, or frequency that causes the video to move back and forth very rapidly.
Flux An amount of light which is present as measured in lumens.
Flying Erase Heads Facilitates smooth, seamless edits whenever the camcorder recording begins. Without a flying erase head, a video "glitch" may occur at scene transitions. The erase head is mounted on the spinning (flying) video head drum.
Foamcore Polystyrene which is sandwiched between paper.
Focal Length A measure of the distance, in millimeters, between the optical centre of the lens and the camera’s sensor.
Focal Ratio Numbers corresponding to the variable size of the camera's iris opening, and thus amount of light passing through the lens. The higher the number, the less light enters.
Focus The area on which compositional elements converge. Typically refers to the sharpest elements in the image.
Focus Pull Shifting focus between subjects in the background and foreground so a viewer’s attention moves from subject to subject as the focus shifts.
Foley The art of reproducing and creating sounds for film.
Foley Artist A person who records sound effects using the foley process.
Foley Walker A person who records sound effects using the foley process.
Follow Focus A control mechanism that allows you to easily make changes on the focus ring of your camera lens.
Foot A length of film attached to the head or tail of a film to assist in threading a projector or telecine.
Foot-candle Measurement unit for illuminance, or lumens per unit of area. One foot-candle is equivalent to one lumen per square foot
Footage Numbers A series of numbers with key lettering printed along the edge of a 35 mm negative at intervals of one foot (16 frames or 64 perforations) and on a 16 mm negative at intervals of six inches (twenty frames).
Foreshadowing In a script, the area where a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story.
Format The size or aspect ratio of a motion picture frame.
Forward Error Correction Data encoding and error correction techniques used to protect the integrity of data that is being transported through a channel.
Fourth Wall The imaginary plane that separates the characters and action of the film from the viewing audience.
Framestore Memory used to store a complete frame of video.
Frame Synchronization A digital electronic device which synchronizes two or more video signals. The frame synchronizer uses one of its inputs as a reference and genlocks the other video signals to the reference's sync and color burst signals.
Framing Act of composing a shot in a camcorder’s viewfinder for desired content, angle and field of view.
Freeze An optical printing effect in which a single frame image is repeated in order to appear stationary when it is projected.
Freeze Frame An optical printing effect in which a single frame image is repeated in order to appear stationary when it is projected.
Frequency The number of times a signal vibrates each second as expressed in cycles per second (cps) or Hertz (Hz).
Frequency Modulation (FM) Frequency modulation is a process used for radio (FM broadcast) and television audio transmission and videotape recording.
Frequency Response A measure of the effectiveness with which a circuit, device, or system processes and transmits signals fed into it, as a function of the signal frequency.
Fresnel Lens A type of lens placed in front of lamps in order to focus the light given off into a controllable beam.
Frosted Lens A white lens that is translucent but not transparent, which diffuses the output of a lamp.
Full Field A complete frame of video that is comprised of two fields.
Full Frame The process of formatting a wide-screen film onto video by selecting the area of the film frame to show in order to accommodate the different aspect ratios of wide-screen film and television.
Full HD A set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen vertically.
Full Height Anamorphic (FHA) A process by which a comparatively wide widescreen image is horizontally compressed to fit into a storage medium with a narrower aspect ratio.
Full Raster A full frame image that has not been squeezed to preserve bandwidth. The opposite of thin raster.
Full Screen A video which has been altered to the 4:3 (or 1.33:1) aspect ratio of the old standard television screen.
Fushia A red-purple color which is the complementary color of green.
Gaffer The chief lighting technician for a production who is in charge of the electrical department.
Gaffer Tape A type of non-damaging, super durable tape used on film sets, most often by the gaffer and grip department.
Gain A measurement of the ratio between two quantities. In audio and video, gain refers to a measure of the increase in loudness, level or volume relative to the input signal.
Gamma The degree of contrast in a negative or print.
Gamma Correction A measure of the correction applied to the video display to compensate for the input signal.
Gamut The entire range of colors capable of being displayed or recorded by the current input / ouput device or file format.
Generation The number of duplication steps between an original recording and a given copy. A second generation duplicate is a copy of the original master and a third-generation duplicate is a copy of a copy of the original master, etc.
Generation Loss When an analog master videotape is duplicated, the second-generation copy is usually inferior in some way to the master.
Genlock A device which enables a composite display (usually a TV) to combine two signals simultaneously by locking one while processing the other. Acronymn for "generator locking device."
Genre A type of film for which the audience has a set of particular expectations based on cultural conventions.
Grain The random optical texture of processed photographic film due to the presence of small particles of a metallic silver, or dye clouds, developed from silver halide that have received enough photons.
Grand Alliance (GA) The consortium created in 1993 at the behest of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to develop the American digital television (SDTV, EDTV) and HDTV specification, with the aim of pooling the best work from different companies.
Graphic Match A cut made on action or movement between two shots in which the action has been overlapped either by repetition of the action or by the use of more than one camera.
Green Screen Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual effects/post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video streams together based on color hues (chroma range).
Grip Production crew stagehand responsible for handling equipment, props, and scenery before, during, and after production.
Gross Bit Rate (DSR) The aggregate rate at which data pass a point in the transmission path of a data transmission system.
Group Delay A phenomenon involving timing differences between video signal components. For example, a long cable run may introduce a substantial delay between the transmission of the color and brightness video information resulting in shadows.
Guerrilla People or production of an effective video on a shoestring budget.
H.262 A standard for "the generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information".
H.263 A video compression standard originally designed as a low-bit-rate compressed format for videoconferencing.
H.264 The name of the most common video compression standard for high-definition digital video for resolutions up to 8K. Also known as MPEG-4 AVC and MPEG-4 Part 10.
H.265 (HEVC) A video compression standard, designed as a successor to the widely used Advanced Video Coding (AVC, H.264, or MPEG-4 Part 10).
Hair Light Light placed behind the subject to create a glamorous halo effect on the hair or a rugged-looking highlight on the cheek. Helps separate the subject from the background.
Halogen Lamp Tungsten-Halogen lights or lighting units. The name is derived from the material which encloses the lighting element.
Handle Extra material beyond the in and out points to allow a clip to be extended and provide additional material for transitions.
Hard Disk Recorder (HDR) A system that uses a high-capacity hard disk to record digital audio or digital video. Hard disk recording systems represent an alternative to reel-to-reel audio tape recording and videotape recorders and provide editing capabilities unavailable to tape recorders.
Hard Light Type of lighting that creates brilliant highlights and sharp shadows.
Harmonic Distortion When any signal is passed through an electronic circuit, the signal may be changed in many ways. In video, the image may become blurred, noisy or contain shadows. In audio, odd harmonics (third, fifth, etc.) produce harsh and unpleasant sounding audio.
HDCAM A high-definition video digital recording videocassette version of digital Betacam.
HDCAM SR A standard for HDCAM that uses a higher particle density tape and is capable of recording in 10 bits 4:2:2 or 4:4:4 RGB with a video bit rate of 440 Mbit/s, and a total data rate of approximately 600 Mbit/s.
HDV A format for recording of high-definition video on DV cassette tape.
Head A length of film attached to the head or tail of a film to assist in threading a projector or telecine.
Head-on Shot When film’s action moves directly at the camera.
Head Leader A length of film attached to the head or tail of a film to assist in threading a projector or telecine.
Headroom Space between the top of a subject’s head and a monitor’s upper-screen edge.
Heatsink A passive heat exchanger that transfers the heat generated by an electronic or a mechanical device to a fluid medium, often air or a liquid coolant, where it is dissipated away from the device, thereby allowing regulation of the device's temperature at optimal levels.
Helical Scan A method of recording video information diagonally on a tape, used in home and professional VCRs.
High-definition Television (HDTV) Refers to any or all of television system formats (analog or digital) that can display at a higher resolution than those of old standards.
High-efficiency Plasma (HEP) An emerging lighting technology that uses radiofrequency to stimulate a contained gas and create a small but very bright ball of plasma.
High-intensity Discharge Lamp (HID) A type of electrical gas-discharge lamp which produces light by means of an electric arc between tungsten electrodes housed inside a translucent or transparent fused quartz or fused alumina arc tube.
High-Pass Filter (HPF) An electronic filter used in various audio circuits to attenuate all frequencies below a chosen frequency.
High-shelf Filter An audio filter that allows allows frequencies above a certain threshold to pass through while reducing lower ones.
High Dynamic Range (HDR) The compositing of two images, one that properly exposes the highlights, and another that properly exposes the dark areas. When composited together, you get a properly exposed image.
High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) A video compression standard, designed as a successor to the widely used Advanced Video Coding (AVC, H.264, or MPEG-4 Part 10).
High Fidelity (HI-FI) Most commonly used to refer to the high-quality audio tracks recorded by many VCRs.
Highlighting Using beams of light for the purposes of illuminating particular aspects of a subject.
Horizontal Blanking Interval The time between the end of one scanning line and the beginning of the next. The vertical blanking interval is the time between the end of one video field* and the beginning of the next.
Horizontal Resolution Specification denoting the amount of discernable detail across a screen's width. Measured in lines or dots per inch, the higher the number the better the picture quality.
Horizontal Scan Rate Horizontal scan rate, or horizontal frequency, usually expressed in kilohertz, is the frequency at which a CRT moves the electron beam from the left side of the display to the right and back, and therefore describes the number of horizontal lines displayed per second.
Hot Shoe A mounting point at the top of some cameras that allow you to attach a flash unit, microphones or other accessories.
House Sync A composite color video signal comprised of sync, color burst and black video.
HSL/HSV (HSL) Acronymns for Hue, Saturation, Lightness (HSL) and Hue, Saturation, Value (HSV) . HSL and HSV are color space naming conventions that allow for selecting colors more intuitively than by entering RGB or CMYK numbers.
Hum A low, steady sound caused by electrical interference.
Hybrid Fiber-coaxial (HFC) A telecommunications industry term for a broadband network that combines optical fiber and coaxial cable.
Hydrargyrum Medium-arc Iodide (HMI) Device that emits light via pressurized mercury vapor and metal halides. Ideal for imitating daylight, they keep relatively cool and have a very high light output. HMI light has a color temperature of around 5600K.
Hyperzoom A type of photographic zoom lens with unconventionally large focal length factors, typically ranging from wide-angle to extreme long lens focal lengths in one lens.
I-frame An I‑frame (Intra-coded picture) is a complete image, like a JPG or BMP image file. I‑frames are the least compressible but don't require other video frames to decode.
I.LINK An interface standard that is commonly used for connecting hard drives and cameras to computers.
IEC 60958 Type I A standard for the exchange of digital audio signals between professional audio devices. Commonly known as S/PDIF.
IEC 60958 Type II A type of digital audio interconnect used in consumer audio equipment to output audio over reasonably short distances.
IEEE (acr.) Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
IEEE 802.3 A type of high-speed network for interconnecting computing devices.
IEEE 1394 An interface standard that is commonly used for connecting hard drives and cameras to computers.
Illegal Colors Colors present in a video signal that are not supported by the current video playback system.
Image Sensor A sensor that detects and conveys information used to make an image. It does so by converting the variable attenuation of light waves (as they pass through or reflect off objects) into signals, small bursts of current that convey the information.
Image Stabilization A camcorder feature which takes out minor picture shakiness, either optically or electronically.
Impedance The measure of the opposition that a circuit presents to a current when a voltage is applied. The term complex impedance may be used interchangeably.
Impedance Matching A video signal occupies a wide spectrum of frequencies, from nearly DC (0 Hz) to 6 MHz. If the output impedance of either the video source, cable or input impedance of the receiving equipment are not properly matched, a series of problems may arise.
In-camera Editing A technique where, instead of editing the shots in a film into the sequence after shooting, the director or cinematographer instead shoots the sequences in strict order.
Inbetweening The process of generating intermediate frames between two images, called key frames, to give the appearance that the first image evolves smoothly into the second image.
Incandescent Light Bulb A type of lamp with a tungsten filament that glows when it carries current.
Incident Light Light which emanates indirectly from a light source, measured from the object it strikes to the source.
Incoming Scene The second scene to appear in a dissolve or wipe effect.
Inductance The resistance of a coil of wire to rapidly fluctuating currents which increases with frequency.
Ingress Protection Code A two-digit code that indicates the resistance of a lighting fixture to solid particles and liquids, where higher digits indicate enhanced protection.
In Point The timecode position at which a clip begins.
Input/output (IO) The communication between an information processing system, such as a computer, and the outside world, possibly a human or another information processing system.
Insert A shot of part of a scene as filmed from a different angle and/or focal length from the master shot.
Insert Editing A single shot inserted into a sequence of shots that momentarily interrupts the flow of action, usually introducing a pertinent detail.
Institute Of Electrical And Electronics Engineers (IEEE) A professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operations center in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) A set of communication standards for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video, data, and other network services over the traditional circuits of the public switched telephone network.
Intent In a script, the implied objective or goal of a character.
Inter-frame A frame in a video compression stream is expressed in terms of one or more neighboring frames.
Interactive Television (ITV) A form of media convergence, adding data services to traditional television technology.
Intercutting In editing method whereby related shots are inserted into a series of other shots for the purpose of contrast or for some other effect.
Interference A phenomenon in which two waves superpose to form a resultant wave of greater, lower, or the same amplitude.
Interlaced A technique for doubling the perceived frame rate of a video display. From a viewer perspective, Interlaced video enhances motion perception and reduces flicker.
Interpolation A form of video processing in which intermediate animation frames are generated between existing ones by means of interpolation, in an attempt to make animation more fluid and to compensate for display motion blur.
Interpositive (IP) An orange-based motion picture film with a positive image made from the edited camera negative.
Intertitle Titles within the main body of a moving image, such as dialogue, continuity, and informational titles. Intertitles are mainly found in silent films.
Into Frame A person or object moving into the picture without the camera moving.
IP Code A two-digit code that indicates the resistance of a lighting fixture to solid particles and liquids, where higher digits indicate enhanced protection.
IP Rating A two-digit code that indicates the resistance of a lighting fixture to solid particles and liquids, where higher digits indicate enhanced protection.
Iris Video camera's diaphragm lens opening or aperture regulates the amount of light entering the camera. Size measured in f-stops.
Iris-in Starting a scene with an opening circle that comes in from the edges of the screen.
Iris-out Ending a scene with a closing circle that comes in from the edges of the screen.
Iris Shot A technique frequently used in silent film in which a black circle closes to end a scene.
ISDB (acr.) Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting.
I‑frames In the field of video compression, a video frame is compressed using different algorithms with different advantages and disadvantages, centered mainly around the amount of data compression.
J-cut A type of cut in which the sound of the next scene precedes the picture.
Jack Any female socket or receptacle, usually on the backside of video and audio equipment, that accepts plug for a circuit connection.
Jam Sync Process of synchronizing a secondary time code generator with a selected master time code.
Jib A boom device with a camera on one end, and a counterweight and camera controls on the other.
Jib Arm A boom device with a camera on one end, and a counterweight and camera controls on the other.
Jitter The displacement of random horizontal lines in video frames. Jitter is the result of a loss of data between devices due to interference, cross-talk and other network disruptions.
Jog Manual control that facilitates viewing and editing precision and convenience
Joint A stereo microphone technique where two microphones are incorporated into a special configuration for recording.
JPEG JPEG is a digital compression standard for still video images that allows the image to occupy less memory or disk space. Like the MPEG standard, it includes options for trading off between storage space and image quality.
Kell Factor A parameter used to limit the bandwidth of a sampled image signal to avoid the appearance of beat frequency patterns when displaying the image in a discrete display device, usually taken to be 0.7.
Kelvin (K) The unit of measurement used for color temperatures.
Kerning The process of adjusting the spacing between characters in a proportional font, usually to achieve a visually pleasing result.
KeyCode An Eastman Kodak Company advancement on edge numbers, which are letters, numbers, and symbols placed at regular intervals along the edge of 35 mm and 16 mm film to allow for frame-by-frame specific identification.
Key Frame A frame that contains a record of specific settings.
Key Grip The person that supervises all grip (lighting and rigging) crews and reports to the director of photography.
Keying The combining of visual elements from separate sources into single images, often to create the illusion that all those elements are parts of the same scene.
Keykode An Eastman Kodak Company advancement on edge numbers, which are letters, numbers, and symbols placed at regular intervals along the edge of 35 mm and 16 mm film to allow for frame-by-frame specific identification.
Key Numbers A series of numbers with key lettering printed along the edge of a 35 mm negative at intervals of one foot (16 frames or 64 perforations) and on a 16 mm negative at intervals of six inches (twenty frames).
Keystone Effect Perspective distortion from a flat object being shot by a camera at other than a perpendicular angle.
Kick An object with a shine or reflection on it from another object.
Kicker Light placed behind the subject to create a glamorous halo effect on the hair or a rugged-looking highlight on the cheek. Helps separate the subject from the background.
Kilohertz (HZ) The unit of measurement for the number of cycles per second. 1Hz = 1 cycle per second.
Kilowatt (KW) Measurement unit for electric power, equivalent to 1000 watts.
Kine A method of making a film copy of a television program in the days before the existence of Video Recorders.
Kinescope A method of making a film copy of a television program in the days before the existence of Video Recorders.
Lap Dissolve Transitioning between two scenes by fading out of the first as the next one becomes clearer.
LaserDisc (LD) A laser optical (reflective) video recording system that uses an analog technique called PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) to represent video information on a grooveless, smooth, round plastic disc.
Latency A time interval between the stimulation and response, or, from a more general point of view, a time delay between the cause and the effect of some physical change in the system being observed.
Latitude The extent to which a light-sensitive material can be overexposed or underexposed and still achieve an acceptable result.
Lean-In When the juxtaposition of shots in a sequence, usually in a scene of dialogue, starts with medium or long shots, for example, and ends with close-ups.
Lean-Out The opposite of a lean-in, moving from close-ups out to longer shots.
Least Significant Bit (LSB) The bit position in a binary integer giving the units value, that is, determining whether the number is even or odd.
LED Array A group of LEDs mounted on a printed circuit board, capable of producing a lighting output.
Legend Information superimposed on an image or blank screen.
Leko An ellipsoidal reflector spot light. Usually used for theatrical purposes.
Lens The transparent material (usually glass) through which the light beam enters the camera and is refracted onto the body and sensor of the camera.
Lens Speed The aperture of a camera lens. The lower the f/ (aperture ratio) value, the faster the lens.
Letterboxing The result of converting a film from widescreen aspect ratio to standard. Letterboxing creates black areas above and below the original clip to make up for missing content.
Light Loss Factor (LLF) A factor used to account for the degradation in luminous output over time.
Linear Narrative In scriptwriting, linear narrative is the most common form of narration, where events are largely portrayed in chronological order, that is: telling the events in the order in which they occurred.
Linear Timecode (LTC) An encoding of SMPTE timecode data in an audio signal, as defined in SMPTE 12M specification.
Line Producer A type of film producer who is the key manager during daily operations of a feature film, advertisement film, television film, or an episode of a TV program.
Line Spacing The vertical spacing of textual characters.
Lip Sync The relationship of sound ad picture that exists when the movements of speech are perceived to coincide with the sounds of speech.
Liquid-crystal Display (LCD) A flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals.
Liquid Crystal On Silicon (LCOS) A miniaturized reflective active-matrix liquid-crystal display or "microdisplay" using a liquid crystal layer on top of a silicon backplane.
Location Any place filming occurs except a studio.
Location Manager A member of the film crew responsible for finding and securing locations to be used for the production to complete its work.
Locked-down Shot Filming a scene while the camera is fixed to keep the image motionless.
Log A record of start and end timecode, reel numbers, scene descriptions and other information for a specified clip.
Logic Application Control Bus System (LANC) Sony's wired edit control protocol which allows two-way communication between a camcorder or VCR and an edit controller such as the Thumbs Up.
Log Line A brief (usually one-sentence) summary of a film that states the central conflict of the story and provides both a synopsis and an emotional hook to stimulate interest.
Long Portrait Takes portraiture photography and transfers it to video form, revealing a subject’s subtle expressions, mannerisms, and gestures.
Long Shot (LS) Camera view of a subject or scene from a distance, showing a broad perspective.
Look Room The distance between the subject and the edge of the frame in the direction the subject is looking.
Lookup Table (LUT) A table of numbers that apply a color transform to an image.
Looping (ADR) The process of re-recording dialog in the studio in synchronization with the picture.
Lossless A compression scheme that results in no loss of data from the file when it is decompressed.
Lossy A compression scheme that discards data in order to lower file sizes.
Low-angle Shot In cinematography, a low-angle shot, is a shot from a camera angle positioned low on the vertical axis, anywhere below the eye line, looking up.
Low-key Lighting A high contrast lighting style with a lot of shadows and large areas of darkness.
Main Profile At Main Level (MP@ML) Main Profile at Main Level covers broadcast television formats up to 720 pixels x 576 lines and 30 fps so includes 720 x 486 at 30 fps and 720 x 576 at 25 fps.
Masking A phenomenon whereby one or more sound "trick" the ear into not hearing other, weaker, sound that are also present.
Master Originally recorded videotape footage; "edited master" implies an original copy of the tape in its edited form. Duplications constitute generational differences.
Match Cut A cut made on action or movement between two shots in which the action has been overlapped either by repetition of the action or by the use of more than one camera.
Match Dissolve A transition between two scenes where the first merges imperceptibly into the second.
Match Frame Edit An edit in which the source and record tapes pick up exactly where they left off.
Matching On Action The process of aligning or overlapping the shots of a film sequence in order to achieve a smooth transition from the action in one shot to the action of the succeeding shot.
Match Move The process of matching the motion of a computer generated object with the motion of the camera or an object in order to blend it seamlessly within the frame.
Matrix Switcher A device which uses an array of electronic switches to route a number of audio/video signals to one or more outputs in almost any combination.
Matte A process shot in which foreground action is superimposed on a separately photographed background by an optical printer.
Matte Artist A person who creates background art for use in a matte shot.
Matte Box A box attached to the front of the video camera lens in order to block and absorb light.
Matte Painting The process of placing a glass-painted or digital background on footage in order to simulate a different or larger environment.
Mean Lumens Lighting output of a lamp or luminaire at 40 percent of its service life.
Medium Close Up (MCU) Halfway between a mid shot and a close-up. Usually covers the subject's head and shoulders.
Medium Shot (MS) Defines any camera perspective between long shot and closeup, viewing the subjects from a medium distance.
Megabyte (MB) A measure of computer storage capability; the equivalent of 1,000 bytes.
Memory Bank A video that documents moments or events in a person's life.
Memory Card A device used to store photos and videos in your camera.
Memory Effect An effect observed in nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride rechargeable batteries that causes them to hold less charge.
Mentor Character In storytelling, a character helping the protagonist to achieve their objective. For example, Yoda in Star Wars is a mentor character.
Metadata Data that cannot be seen or heard, such as EDLs, timecode, etc.
Mezzanine Compression Contribution level quality encoded high-definition television signals, they are typically split into two levels: high level AT 140 Mb/s and low level at 39 Mb/s.
Microphone Impedance In order to obtain the highest quality output signal from a microphone, a preamplifier input should provide a load (impedance) which exactly matches a microphone's output impedance.
Microphone Preamplifier A microphone is a device which converts sound waves to electrical impulses (transducer).
Mid-Side A stereo microphone technique where two microphones are incorporated into a special configuration for recording.
Mid Shot (MS) Defines any camera perspective between long shot and closeup, viewing the subjects from a medium distance.
MII Portable, professional video component camera/recorder format, utilizing 1/2" metal particle videotape.
Mirror Image An optical effect in which the picture is shown reversed from left to right.
Mix The result of combining combining audio signals from different sources, such as microphones, instruments, recordings, etc.
Mix Cue Sheet A sheet having several columns for notations of footage, fades. volume levels, and equalizations which are used in mixing sound tracks where each column usually represents one track.
Modem A hardware device that converts data into a format suitable for a transmission medium so that it can be transmitted from one computer to another (historically along telephone wires).
Modulation A process that converts mutimedia information to an electrical or optical signal before it is transmitted. The reverse process (demodulation) converts the signal back to the original blend of audio, video, image and text.
Moiré A distracting wavy effect produced when converging lines in a video image are nearly parallel to a monitor's scanning lines.
Monitor A screen device capable of accepting direct input from a video source.
Motif A recurring image, sound, line, action or another element that makes a symbolic, allegorical, metaphoric or thematic point in a movie.
Motion-compensated Frame Interpolation A form of video processing in which intermediate animation frames are generated between existing ones by means of interpolation, in an attempt to make animation more fluid and to compensate for display motion blur.
Motion Artifact Visual interference caused by the difference between the frame rate of the camera and the motion of the object. The most common display of this is when filming a computer or television screen
Motion Blur The apparent streaking of moving objects in a photograph or a sequence of frames, such as a film or animation.
Motion Capture (MOCAP) The process of digitally recording an actor's movement in order to apply this movement to a computer-generated object.
Motion Compensation An algorithmic technique used to predict a frame in a video, given the previous and/or future frames by accounting for motion of the camera and/or objects in the video.
Motion Control The process of controlling the motion of the camera by a computer in order to obtain precise control over its movement.
Motion Estimation The process of determining motion vectors that describe the transformation from one 2D image to another; usually from adjacent frames in a video sequence.
Motion Interpolation A form of video processing in which intermediate animation frames are generated between existing ones by means of interpolation, in an attempt to make animation more fluid and to compensate for display motion blur.
Motion JPEG (MJPEG) A video compression format in which each video frame or interlaced field of a digital video sequence is compressed separately as a JPEG image.
Multicast Data flow from a single source to multiple destinations.
Multicast Backbone (MBONE) An experimental backbone and virtual network built on top of the Internet for carrying IP multicast traffic on the Internet.
Multicore A multi-channel audio cable intended for use with microphone level signals and/or line-level signals
Multimedia Content that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, video, and interactive content.
Multipath Interference A phenomenon in the physics of waves whereby a wave from a source travels to a detector via two or more paths and, under the right condition, the two (or more) components of the wave interfere.
Multiplexer (MUX) Device for mixing television signals to a single video recorder.
Multiplexing A method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium.
Multipoint A term used by network designers to describe network links that have many possible endpoints.
Multiscan Monitor A monitor which synchronizes to different video signal sync frequencies, allowing its use with various computer video outputs.
Multisync Monitor A monitor which synchronizes to different video signal sync frequencies, allowing its use with various computer video outputs.
Multitrack (MTR) An audio tape recorder capable of handling more than two tracks of information separately.
Nanosecond (NS) One billionth of a second. An indication of the precision required in the timing of video signals.
Narrative An account of a series of related events, experiences, or the like, whether true (episode, vignette, travelogue, memoir, autobiography, biography) or fictitious (fairy tale, fable, story, epic, legend, novel).
Narrative Arc The parabolic shift in polar attitudes of a character from point A to point B during the course of a story.
National Electrical Code (NEC) A publication by the National Fire Protection Association, which establishes the requirements for fireproof electrical installations.
National Institute Of Standards And Technology (NEMA) A physical sciences laboratory and a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce with a mission to promote innovation and industrial competitiveness.
Natural Light Planetary illumination -- from sun, moon, stars -- be it indoors or out. Has higher color temperature than artificial light, and thus more bluish qualities.
Near Video On Demand (NVOD) A pay-per-view consumer video technique used by multi-channel broadcasters using high-bandwidth distribution mechanisms such as satellite and cable television.
Negative An image those tonal values which are the opposite (black & white) or complement (color) of those in the original subject.
Negative Conforming The process of cutting motion picture negative to match precisely the final edit as specified by the film editor.
Negative Cutter A person who performs negative cutting: the physically cuts the film negative according to the cut list and then splices the film together in the desired order, ready for the final print.
Negative Cutting The process of cutting motion picture negative to match precisely the final edit as specified by the film editor.
Negative Matching The process of cutting motion picture negative to match precisely the final edit as specified by the film editor.
NEMA (acr.) National Electrical Manufacturers Association.
NetShow Microsoft's original framework for Internet network broadcasting, intended to compete with RealNetworks RealMedia & Vivo.
Neutral-density Filter A filter that reduces the amount of light entering the camera lens by modify the intensity of all wavelengths of light equally.
Neutral Density (ND) Colorless filters that reduce the amount of light in controlled degrees.
NFPA 70 (NEC) A publication by the National Fire Protection Association, which establishes the requirements for fireproof electrical installations.
Nickel Metal Hydride (NIMH) A type of battery used in some lower-end cameras. Although cheaper than Lithium ion batteries, they tend to lose charge when not in use and don’t provide as much overall power.
Nickel–cadmium Battery (NICD) Lightweight camcorder battery type designed to maintain power longer than traditional lead-acid batteries.
No Good (NG) Commonly seen on camera and editor reports to indicate a particular take is unusable.
Noir Usually refers to the classic black and white film noir style used in detective mysteries, typically employing hard lighting and dark, low key lighting.
Noise In analog video, a random flicker of dots or snow-like patterns resulting from electronic and radiated electromagnetic interferences accidentally picked up by the antenna.
Noise Gate An electronic process used to reduce noise levels in audio and video. In the video, the most effective noise reduction is accomplished by digitizing the video signal and carrying out a computerized pixel by pixel analysis of the data.
Non-Drop Frame (NDF) A type of SMPTE time code that continuously counts a full 30 frames per second. As a result, non-drop-fame time code does not exactly match real-time.
Non-synchronous Sound Sound which is indigenous to the action but not precisely synchronized with the action
Nonanamorphic Widescreen A film process that achieves the wide-screen effect \without optically compressing the image or requiring the use of special projection techniques.
Noninterlaced Scanning A format of displaying, storing, or transmitting moving images in which all the lines of each frame are drawn in sequence.
Noninterlaced Video Process of scanning complete frames in one pass, painting every line on the screen, yielding higher picture quality than that of interlaced video. Most computers produce a noninterlaced video signal; NTSC is interlaced.
Nonlinear A system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input.
Nonlinear Editing (NLE) A form of audio, video, and image editing in which the original content is not modified in the course of editing.
Nonlinearity The amount by which a measured video signal output differs from a standard video signal output.
NTSC The analog television color system that was used in North America from 1954 and until digital conversion, was used in most of the Americas. Set to 525 lines per frame, 29.97 frames per second.
NTSC-J The analog television system and video display standard for the region of Japan that ceased operations in 44 of the country's 47 prefectures on July 24, 2011
Nyquist Frequency Half of the sampling rate of a discrete signal processing system.
Obie A light mounted by the side of the camera, to provide direct light onto a subject's face, with the aim of reducing the appearance of blemishes and wrinkles.
Oblique Angle A device or process whereby the camera is angled so that the horizontal frame line is not parallel to the horizon.
OC-1 OC-1 is a SONET line with transmission speeds of up to 51.84 Mbit/s (payload: 50.112 Mbit/s; overhead: 1.728 Mbit/s) using optical fiber.
OC-3 OC-3 is a network line with a transmission data rate of up to 155.52 Mbit/s (payload: 148.608 Mbit/s; overhead: 6.912 Mbit/s, including path overhead) using fiber optics.
OC-3c OC-3c ("c" stands for "concatenated") concatenates three STS-1 (OC-1) frames into a single OC-3 look-alike stream.
OC-12 OC-12 is a network line with transmission speeds of up to 622.08 Mbit/s (payload: 601.344 Mbit/s; overhead: 20.736 Mbit/s).
OC-24 OC-24 is a network line with transmission speeds of up to 1244.16 Mbit/s (payload: 1202.208 Mbit/s (1.202208 Gbit/s); overhead: 41.472 Mbit/s).
OC-48 OC-48 is a network line with transmission speeds of up to 2488.32 Mbit/s (payload: 2405.376 Mbit/s (2.405376 Gbit/s); overhead: 82.944 Mbit/s).
OC-192 OC-192 is a network line with transmission speeds of up to 9953.28 Mbit/s (payload: 9510.912 Mbit/s (9.510912 Gbit/s); overhead: 442.368 Mbit/s).
OC-768 OC-768 is a network line with transmission speeds of up to 39,813.12 Mbit/s (payload: 38,486.016 Mbit/s (38.486016 Gbit/s); overhead: 1,327.104 Mbit/s (1.327104 Gbit/s)).
OC-1920 OC-1920 is a network line with transmission speeds of up to 99,532.8 Mbit/s (99.5328 Gbit/s).
OC-3840 OC-3840 is a network line with transmission speeds of up to 200 Gbit/s.
Octave The interval between two sounds having a basic frequency ratio of 2 to 1.
Omnidirectional Microphone pickup pattern whereby sound is absorbed equally from all directions.
One Light Telecine transfer in which the film is color timed on the first shot and the settings are then applied to the rest of the reel.
One Minute Video A video exactly one minute in length, containing no camera movements (panning, tilting, etc.) or editing, and making use of original sound.
Online The final technical editing process which uses the original camera tapes to repeat all decisions made in the offline editing process.
Opacity The ratio of the amount of light falling on a surface to the amount of light which is transmitted.
Opaque A material that completely blocks visible light.
OpenCable A set of hardware and software specifications under development in the United States by CableLabs to "define the next-generation digital consumer device" for the cable television industry.
Open Media Framework (OMF) A file format intended for transferring media between different software applications on different platforms.
Operating System (OS) System software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
Optical Carrier Transmission Rates Optical Carrier transmission rates are a standardized set of specifications of transmission bandwidth for digital signals that can be carried on Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) fiber-optic networks.
Optical Disc (OD) A flat, usually circular disc which encodes binary data (bits) in the form of pits (binary value of 0 or off, due to lack of reflection when read) and lands (binary value of 1 or on, due to a reflection when read) on a special material (often aluminium ) on one of its flat surfaces.
Optical Effect The combining of visual elements from separate sources into single images, often to create the illusion that all those elements are parts of the same scene.
Optical Fiber hin glass filaments within a jacket that optically transmits images or signals in the form of light around corners and over distances with extremely low losses.
Optical Printer A printer in which an image of the original is transferred to raw film stock by means of light and a lens system.
Opticals Shots composited in an optical printer to be output to film.
Optical Sound An analog soundtrack printed on film that takes the form of a varying sound wave.
Optical Videodisc (LD) A laser optical (reflective) video recording system that uses an analog technique called PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) to represent video information on a grooveless, smooth, round plastic disc.
Optical Zoom The lens’ ability to change the focal length either closer to or further from a central subject.
Organic Light-emitting Diode (OLED) A light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of an organic compound that emits light in response to an electric current.
Out Point The timecode position at which a clip ends.
Outtake Footage not to be included in final production.
Overcranking The process of speeding the frame rate of a camera up, so that when the captured pictures are played at the normal frame rate the action appears to be in slow motion.
Overlapping Action The process of aligning or overlapping the shots of a film sequence in order to achieve a smooth transition from the action in one shot to the action of the succeeding shot.
Overlay Any technique used to display a video window on a computer display while bypassing the chain of CPU to graphics card to computer monitor.
Oversampling The process of sampling a signal at a sampling frequency significantly higher than the Nyquist rate.
Overscan Video images generally exceed the size of the physical screen.
Over The Shoulder Shots that are framed with an emphasis on a particular character’s perspective. This shot is used in dialogue scenes to show conversations between two people.
Overwrite Edit An editing method in which existing clips are overwritten when adding a new clip onto a timeline.
Oxide The magnetic coating on video and audio tapes that stores picture and sound information.
Palette A finite set of colors in no particular order.
Pan And Scan The process of formatting a wide-screen film onto video by selecting the area of the film frame to show in order to accommodate the different aspect ratios of wide-screen film and television.
Panning Fixed, lateral movements made with a camera.
Pantone (PMS) A company headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey, best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary color space used in a variety of industries notably graphic design, fashion design, etc.
Parallel Editing In editing method whereby related shots are inserted into a series of other shots for the purpose of contrast or for some other effect.
Parfocal Lens A mechanical assembly of lens elements for which the focal length (and thus angle of view) can be varied, as opposed to a fixed focal length (FFL) lens.
Parity Bit A method of verifying the accuracy of transmitted or recorded data. A bit added to a string of binary code to ensure that the total number of 1-bits in the string is even or odd.
Patch Panel A unit used to connect and route signals to and from different, external devices.
Pedestal The voltage level produced at the end of each horizontal picture line which separates the portion of the video signal containing the picture information from the portion containing the synchronizing information.
Period In scriptwriting, a historical time and place that serves as the setting or “special world” of a story.
Periodic Noise An image affected by periodic noise will look like a repeating pattern has been added on top of the original image.
Phantom Power A method of remotely powering the preamplifier or impedance converter which is buitlt into many microphones by sending a voltage along the audio cable.
Phase Alternating Line (PAL) An analog standard used for encoding color television signals. PAL is the equivalent of NTSC and SECAM.
Phase Distortion A shifting of output voltage relative to input by an amount which is disproportional to frequency. Phase Distortion is undetectable until it is amplified.
Phase Error A change in the color subcarrier signal which moves its timing out of phase, i.e., it occurs at a different instant from the original signal.
Phase Noise A change in the color subcarrier signal which moves its timing out of phase, i.e., it occurs at a different instant from the original signal.
Phase Shift The displacement of a waveform in time.
Phone Connector A sturdy male connector compatible with audio accessories, particularly for insertion of microphone and headphone cables.
Phone Plug A sturdy male connector compatible with audio accessories, particularly for insertion of microphone and headphone cables.
Phono Plug A type of connector used on all consumer VCRs and camcorders to carry the standard composite* video and audio signals.
Photometry The measurement of light and its properties.
Pick-up Shot Reshooting a portion of a scene, the rest of which was acceptably filmed in a previous take.
Pickup A video camera's image sensing element, either CCD (charge coupled device) or MOS (metal oxide semiconductor); converts light to electrical energy. A microphone's sound reception.
Pickup Pattern Defines a microphone's response to sounds arriving from various directions or angles.
Picture In Picture (PIP) A digital special effect in which one video image is inserted within another allowing several images to share a single screen.
Picture Profile The four dimensions of in-camera picture settings: sharpness, contrast, saturation, and color tone.
Pillarbox The black bars displayed at the sides when a 4:3 image is shown in widescreen.
Pilottone A sine wave signal, recorded by various field audio recorders at a known frequency, which is used to resolve the tape speed on playback to retain sync with film camera footage. Obsolete.
Pilot Tone A sine wave signal, recorded by various field audio recorders at a known frequency, which is used to resolve the tape speed on playback to retain sync with film camera footage. Obsolete.
Pink Noise A sound signal that has an equal amount of energy per octave or fraction of an octave.
Pitch Control Increasing or decreasing tape speed to match the musical pitch of the playback.
Pixel The smallest addressable element on a screen or display device.
Pixel Aspect Ratio (PAR) A mathematical ratio that describes how the width of a pixel in a digital image compares to the height of that pixel.
Pixelation The display of large, blocky pixels in an image caused by over-enlarging it.
Plane Reflector A large white card made of foam or poster board used to reflect soft light.
Plasma Screen Display screens comprised of hundreds of thousands of tiny gas-filled cells sandwiched between two sheets of glass.
Plate Shot An empty shot of a background with no foreground elements, often for removing certain foreground elements from the scene such as light stands, wires and rigging in the visual effects stage.
Playback Videotaped material viewed and heard as recorded, facilitated by camcorder or VCR.
Plot Action In scriptwriting: refers to the physical actions and story points that propel a story through to a climax and resolution.
Plot Pay-off In scriptwriting: the consequence or outcome of a plot point or story element that is set-up earlier in a screenplay.
Plot Point In scriptwriting: the consequence or outcome of a plot point or story element that is set-up earlier in a screenplay.
Plugin Third-party software created to add a new feature to an application, such as Premiere or After Effects.
Point-to-multipoint (P2MP) Fixed wireless data communications for Internet or voice over IP via radio or microwave frequencies in the gigahertz range.
Point Of View (POV) A shot that shows the perspective from a character or object’s position in the scene's setting.
Polarizing Filter A piece of glass that fits over the front end of a lens to change the way that your camera sees and treats light, while ultimately cutting down on glare.
Positive Print A film print created from a negative that is suitable for projection.
Post-Production The period in a project's development that takes place after the picture is delivered, or "after the production."
Posterization Electronic special effect transforming a normal video image into a collage of flattened single-colored areas, without graduations of color and brightness.
Practical Source Any light source that is part of the scene itself and does not need to be hidden from the camera.
Pre-blacked Tapes that have been pre-recorded with blank data (a black screen and timecode) before they are used.
Pre-production The vital phase of production in which the script, budget, locations, actors, and props are planned.
Pre-roll Ads which appear before a video and Video On Demand actually refers to a video which can be loaded at any time.
Preamp An electronic device that boosts extremely weak signal voltages, such as those from microphones or mag heads, to a level that is usable by power amplifiers.
Preamplifier An electronic device that boosts extremely weak signal voltages, such as those from microphones or mag heads, to a level that is usable by power amplifiers.
Predicted Picture A P‑frame (Predicted picture) holds only the changes in the image from the previous frame. P‑frames can use data from previous frames to decompress and are more compressible than I‑frames.
Prescoring Recording of music or other sound prior to the shooting of the picture which is to accompany it. The most common usage is in animated film.
Presence The sound in a room. It is recorded and intercut with dialogue to smooth out any editing points.
Pressure Zone Microphone A small omnidirectional condenser mic capsule positioned near or flush with a boundary.
Preview Bus A processor function allowing the operator to select any incoming video source for viewing prior to actual use. Typically, each signal can be previewed on its own monitor.
Primary Color The basic colors used in TV and video systems of red, green and blue.
Principal Photography The main photography of a film and the time period during which it takes place.
Print A version of a film intended for projection.
Prism Shutter A device used on many film viewers, editing machines, and some high-speed cameras, consisting of a rotating prism of four or more sides through which the viewer light passes as film is pulled continuously through it.
ProcAmp A device used to alter, change or clean video or audio signal components or parameters in realtime.
Processing Amplifier A device used to alter, change or clean video or audio signal components or parameters in realtime.
Process Photography A technique where the actor stands in front of a screen and the background is projected onto the screen behind them.
Process Shot A shot that will be composited from two other shots. The background part of this process is called a 'plate'.
Production The actual filming and creation of the raw elements as required by the script.
Production Manager (PM) The main supervisor of the crew in charge of keeping a film project on time and on budget.
Production Sound Recording and/or mixing sound on location during the film or video shoot.
Program And System Information Protocol (PSIP) The MPEG (a video and audio industry group) and privately defined program-specific information originally defined by General Instrument for the DigiCipher 2 system and later extended for the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a television station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch by title and description.
Progressive Capture A format of displaying, storing, or transmitting moving images in which all the lines of each frame are drawn in sequence.
Progressive Scan A way to store and transmit images that draws all the lines in each frame in sequence. Compare to other techniques such as interlacing.
Progressive Scanning A format of displaying, storing, or transmitting moving images in which all the lines of each frame are drawn in sequence.
Progressive Segmented Frame (PSF) A scheme designed to acquire, store, modify and distribute progressive-scan video using interlaced equipment.
Protocol A system of rules that allow two or more entities of a communications system to transmit information via any kind of variation of a physical quantity.
Pseudo-solarization Special effect in which the lightest and darkest values of a picture are made dark while the middle tones become light.
Push In Shot The opposite of a pull back shot; a shot in which the camera moves towards or zooms into an object.
Push Video On Demand (PVOD) So-named because the provider "pushes" the content out to the viewer's set-top box without the viewer having requested the content.
Péritel An audio/video connector used in consumer equipment, especially in Europe.
P‑frame A P‑frame (Predicted picture) holds only the changes in the image from the previous frame. P‑frames can use data from previous frames to decompress and are more compressible than I‑frames.
P‑frames In the field of video compression, a video frame is compressed using different algorithms with different advantages and disadvantages, centered mainly around the amount of data compression.
Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) A family of digital modulation methods and a related family of analog modulation methods widely used in modern telecommunications to transmit information.
Quantization (QPSK) A lossy compression technique achieved by compressing a range of values to a single quantum value.
Quantization Noise The noise caused by quantizing the pixels of a sensed image to a number of discrete levels is known as quantization noise.
Quarter Inch A medium for magnetic recording, made of a thin, magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic film.
Quartz Tungsten-Halogen lights or lighting units. The name is derived from the material which encloses the lighting element.
Quartz-halogen Tungsten-Halogen lights or lighting units. The name is derived from the material which encloses the lighting element.
Quartz Iodine Lamp Tungsten-Halogen lights or lighting units. The name is derived from the material which encloses the lighting element.
QuickTime (QT) Cross-platform video compression software developed by Apple and used extensively on the Macintosh platform.
Rack A standardized storage area for computer servers and other equipment.
Rack Focus Shifting focus between subjects in the background and foreground so a viewer’s attention moves from subject to subject as the focus shifts.
Racking Focus Shifting focus between subjects in the background and foreground so a viewer’s attention moves from subject to subject as the focus shifts.
Radio Frequency (RF) Describes the radio signal band of the electromagnetic spectrum (about 30 MHz to 300 GHz).
RC Timecode (RCTC) A time code system, available on 8mm and Hi-8 formats only.
Re-recording The process of mixing all edited music, effects and dialog tracks of a film or video production to mono, stereo, multichannel or whatever audio format is desired for the final print master.
Reaction Shot A shot of a player listening while another player's voice continues on the sound track.
Read-only Memory (ROM) A type of non-volatile memory used in computers and other electronic devices.
RealAudio A proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995.
Real Time Occurring immediately, without delay for rendering.
RealVideo A suite of proprietary video compression formats developed by RealNetworks – the specific format changes with the version.
Rear Projection A technique where the actor stands in front of a screen and the background is projected onto the screen behind them.
Red Green Blue (RGB) Video signal transmission system that differentiates and processes all color information in separate red, green, and blue component.
Red Herring In scriptwriting, a red herring is a false lead, assumed outcome or obvious solution that a writer plants in a story to fool the audience from guessing the real outcome.
Reduction Printing A copy of a film done with an optical printer to a smaller size or gauge than the original.
Redundant Array Of Independent Disks (RAID) A data storage virtualization technology that combines multiple physical disk drive components into one or more logical units for the purposes of data redundancy, performance improvement, or both.
Reel A strip of film wound upon a disc for attaching to a projector.
Reference Tone A sound meant to be used by audio engineers in order to adjust the playback equipment so that the accompanying media is at a comfortable volume for the audience.
Reflectance The effectiveness of a surface of a material in reflecting radiant energy.
Reflected Light Light which emanates indirectly from a light source, measured from the object it strikes to the source.
Reflector Lighting accessory helpful for spreading light as well as filling in shadows.
Refresh Rate The number of times in a second that a display hardware updates its buffer.
Regular Reflection A term used to describe highly directional, focused light. This is often perceived as a very 'hard' light.
Relational Editing Editing of shots for the purposes of comparison or for the contrast of content.
Release The authorization by the owner of a completed film to a public exhibition of the film.
Release Negative A duplicate negative from which release prints are made.
Release Print A version of a film intended for projection.
Remote Videomaking performed "on location," outside controlled studio environment.
Render The process of calculating effects in an image for playback or final output.
Render Farm An array of computers that each process small segments of a large task in order to speed it up.
Resolution The total number of bits that a digitized image contains, or that a digital display can show. Typically expressed as the number of pixels referencing the width and height of the image or display: 800px x 600px.
Resolution Independence A term used to describe the notion of equipment that can operate at more than one resolution.
Return Loss The loss of power in the signal returned/reflected by a discontinuity in a transmission line or optical fiber.
Reverb (RV) The presence or persistence of sound due to repeated reflections.
Reverberation (RV) The presence or persistence of sound due to repeated reflections.
Reversal In scriptwriting, a reversal is a peripeteia: a serious second act obstacle to a protagonist’s objective.
Reversal Film A film that is manufactured and processed in such a way as to produce a positive image after exposure.
Reverse Action An optical effect in which the action appears backward from its chronological sequence.
Reverse Angle A shot that is turned approximately 180 degrees in relation to the preceding shot.
Reverse Cut A shot that is turned approximately 180 degrees in relation to the preceding shot.
RGBA A file containing an RGB image plus an alpha channel for transparency information.
Rigger Person who works on ropes, booms, lifts, hoists and the like for a stage production, film, or television show.
Rigging A technique in computer animation in which a character (or other articulated object) is represented in two parts: a surface representation used to draw the character (called skin or mesh) and a hierarchical set of interconnected bones (called the skeleton or rig) used to animate (pose and keyframe) the mesh.
Rim Light A hard backlight on the subject that is generally more intense than the key light.
Ring Flash A circular photographic electronic flash that fits around a camera lens.
Ringing A copy of the transmitted image super-imposed with an offset on top of the main image.
Ring Light A circular photographic electronic flash that fits around a camera lens.
Ripple Automatic updating of an Edit Decision List after making a change to the list.
Rotoscoping An animation technique that animators use to trace over motion picture footage, frame by frame, to produce realistic action.
Rough Cut A preliminary trial stage in the process of editing a film. Shots are laid out in approximate relationship to an end product without detailed attention to the individual cutting points
RS-232 Computer communication standards used in video for the control of certain video equipment.
RS-422 A telecommunications standard for binary serial communications between devices.
Run-length Encoding (RLE) A form of lossless data compression in which runs of data (sequences in which the same data value occurs in many consecutive data elements) is stored as a single data value and count, rather than as the original run.
Rushes This refers to daily prints of a film used for evaluation purposes.
S-Video A signaling standard for standard definition video, typically 480i or 576i.
S/PDIF A type of digital audio interconnect used in consumer audio equipment to output audio over reasonably short distances.
Sabattier Effect A phenomenon in photography in which the image recorded on a negative or on a photographic print is wholly or partially reversed in tone.
Safe Area Boundaries within which contents of a television picture are sure to be seen, regardless of masking differences in receiver displays.
Salt-and-pepper Noise An image containing salt-and-pepper noise will have dark pixels in bright regions and bright pixels in dark regions.
Sample-rate Conversion The process of changing the sampling rate of a discrete signal to obtain a new discrete representation of the underlying continuous signal.
Sample Reel A short piece of edited video or film footage showcasing a person's previous work.
Sampling The reduction of a continuous-time signal to a discrete-time signal.
Sampling Rate The reduction of a continuous-time signal to a discrete-time signal.
Saturation Property of a color determined by a combination of light intensity and how much it is distributed across the spectrum of different wavelengths
Scalable Video A new wireless multicast technology. In scalable video multicast, the video program subscribers can view the program in accordance with their link conditions.
Scalable Video Coding (SVC) The name for the Annex G extension of the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video compression standard.
Scaling The resizing of a digital image. In video technology, the magnification of digital material is known as upscaling or resolution enhancement.
Scan Conversion The process of representing continuous graphics objects as a collection of discrete pixels.
Scan Line Result of television's swift scanning process which sweeps out a series of horizontal lines from left to right, then down a bit and left to right again.
SCART An audio/video connector used in consumer equipment, especially in Europe.
Scenarist A writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs, and video games, are based.
Scene A sequence of related shots usually constituting action in one particular location.
Scene Heading A basic set description located at the top of a script scene, written in all caps, providing information as to whether the scene is interior vs. exterior, day or night, and where it takes place.
Scoop The light that provides a soft-edged field of light used to provide additional subject illumination to reduce harsh shadows or areas not highlighted by the key light.
Scope A trade name for a system of anamorphic widescreen projection.
Score The original-music composition for a motion picture or television production which is generally recorded after the picture has been edited.
Scotopic Lumens The portion of luminous output that gets a response from the rods in human eyes.
Screener An advance screening of a film or television
Screenplay A formatted written work that includes stage direction, action, character names and dialogue.
Screenplay Writer A writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs, and video games, are based.
Screen Tearing A visual artifact in video display where a display device shows information from multiple frames in a single screen draw.
Screenwriter A writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs, and video games, are based.
Scrim A metal 'window screen' that can be placed in front of a lighting unit to decrease the lighting intensity by a predetermined amount.
Script Breakdown An intermediate step in the production of a play, film, comic book, or any other work that is originally planned using a script.
Scriptwriter A writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs, and video games, are based.
Scrub Moving a piece of tape or magnetic film back and forth over a sound head to locate a specific cue or word.
Scrub Wheel A mechanical control for scrubbing film or magnetic tape.
Serial Video Processing A video mixing architecture where a series of video multipliers, each combining two video signals, are cascaded or arranged in a serial fashi
Set Where the camera is in place for a shot that is being set up for being shot at a location or studio.
Set-top Box (STB) A device that is connected to a television so that it can receive digital signals.
Set Dressing General decorative items in a scene that are not specifically referenced by the script.
Setting In scriptwriting, the time and geographic location within a narrative, either nonfiction or fiction. A literary element, the setting helps initiate the main backdrop and mood for a story
Shoot And Protect A technique where widescreen footage is shot with the main action centered so as to provide easier center crop conversion to a 4:3 aspect ratio.
Shooting Ratio Amount of raw footage recorded relative to the amount used in edited, finished program.
Shooting Schedule A project plan for each day's shooting for film production.
Shooting Script The version of a screenplay used during the production of a motion picture.
Shot All pictorial material recorded by a camera. More strictly speaking, shots are intentional, isolated camera views which collectively comprise a scene.
Shotgun Mic A highly directional microphone, usually with a long, tubular body; used by the production sound mixer on location or on the set for film and television productions.
Shot List A full log of all the shots you want to include in your video.
Shot Noise The dominant noise in the darker parts of an image from an image sensor is typically that caused by statistical quantum fluctuations, that is, variation in the number of photons sensed at a given exposure level.
Shoulder Rig A piece of equipment used to help stabilize a handheld camera.
Showreel A short piece of edited video or film footage showcasing a person's previous work.
Shutter In a camera, the mechanical component that allows light to reach the sensors for a set amount of time.
Shutter Speed One of several methods used to control the amount of light recorded by the camera.
Siamese A splitter that divides a power line into two parts.
Sibilance An exaggerated hissing in voice patterns.
Sider A flag up on the side of a lighting unit to block light.
SIGGRAPH (acr.) Special Interest Group on Computer GRAPHics and Interactive Techniques.
Sight Line An imaginary line that is drawn between a subject and the object that he/she is looking at.
Sightline An imaginary line that is drawn between a subject and the object that he/she is looking at.
Signal The form of variation with time of a wave whereby information is conveyed in some form whether it is acoustic or electronic.
Signal-to-noise Ratio (SNR) A measurement of the ratio between the amplitude of the original signal and the background noise. A higher SNR indicates a better output.
Signal Generator A device or component that outputs predetermined audio or video signals for testing and measurement purposes.
Signaling Rate (DSR) The aggregate rate at which data pass a point in the transmission path of a data transmission system.
Simulcast The broadcasting of programs or events across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously).
Simultaneity The quality of having two or more things happening at once.
Simultaneous Broadcast The broadcasting of programs or events across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously).
Single System A method of recording sound and picture on the same medium, most typically used in newsgathering.
Sizzle Reel A short piece of edited video or film footage showcasing a person's previous work.
Skeletal Animation A technique in computer animation in which a character (or other articulated object) is represented in two parts: a surface representation used to draw the character (called skin or mesh) and a hierarchical set of interconnected bones (called the skeleton or rig) used to animate (pose and keyframe) the mesh.
Skip Frame An optical printing effect which eliminates selected frames of the original scene to speed up the action.
Slate A device to assist in synchronizing of picture and sound, and to designate and mark the various scenes and takes as they are filmed and audio-recorded.
Slave An audiotape or videotape transport, projector or mag film dubber whose movements follow the movement of a single master transport.
Slow Motion A device that uses a track to allow smooth camera movements laterally, front to back, or even diagonally.
Slug A strip of film or digital effect used to fill in black areas on the timeline.
Slug Line A basic set description located at the top of a script scene, written in all caps, providing information as to whether the scene is interior vs. exterior, day or night, and where it takes place.
SMPTE/EBU The European Broadcasting Union, an alliance of public service media organizations, established on 12 February 1950.
SMPTE 301 Standard specifications for film leaders. The standard also specifies the position and placement of the cue marks at the end of the reel.
SMPTE 367M The SMPTE standard for HDCAM. The standard specifies compression of high-definition digital.
SMPTE Color Bars (SMPTE) A test pattern used on analog televisions conforming to the NTSC video standard.
SMPTE D-11 The SMPTE standard for HDCAM. The standard specifies compression of high-definition digital.
SMPTE Timecode SMPTE's vertical interval time code format standard.
Snake A multi-channel audio cable intended for use with microphone level signals and/or line-level signals
Snake Cable A multi-channel audio cable intended for use with microphone level signals and/or line-level signals
SND Interchangeable audio file formats used in the Sun Sparc station, Nest and Silicon Graphics (SGI) computers.
Snoot Open-ended cylindrical funnel mounted on a light source to project a narrow, concentrated circle of illumination.
SnorriCam A camera rig attached to the body of an actor to create the effect of a background moving around a stationary subject.
Snow In analog video, a random flicker of dots or snow-like patterns resulting from electronic and radiated electromagnetic interferences accidentally picked up by the antenna.
Softbox Lighting accessory available in various sizes usually made of textured gold or silver fabric. Facilitates soft, shadowless illumination by reflecting light onto a scene.
Soft Focus Soft focus is a lens flaw, in which the lens forms images that are blurred due to spherical aberration.
Soft Light A light which is diffused and creates very soft shadows.
Solarization Special effect in which the lightest and darkest values of a picture are made dark while the middle tones become light.
Sony Dynamic Digital Sound (SDDS) Sony Dynamic Digital Sound System. A film sound format which encodes eight tracks of digital audio outside of the sprocket holes on both edges of a film print.
Sound Designer A film sound specialist responsible for the development and augmentation of all soundtrack material, or a significant portion thereof, and is ultimately in charge of the entire sound production.
Sound Effect A recorded or electronically produced sound that matches the visual action taking place onscreen.
Sound Marker A device to assist in synchronizing of picture and sound, and to designate and mark the various scenes and takes as they are filmed and audio-recorded.
Sound Masking A phenomenon whereby one or more sound "trick" the ear into not hearing other, weaker, sound that are also present.
Sound Mixer The person responsible for capturing sound as it plays out live, determining microphone types and placement.
Sound Recordist The person responsible for capturing sound as it plays out live, determining microphone types and placement.
Soundstage A soundproof, hangar-like structure, building, or room, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or television studio property.
Soundtrack Generically refers to the music contained in a film, though it literally means the entire audio portion of a film, video or television production, including effects and dialog.
Sound Track Generically refers to the music contained in a film, though it literally means the entire audio portion of a film, video or television production, including effects and dialog.
Spatial Resolution The precision of a measurement with respect to space, or the real dimension that represents a pixel of the image.
Special Effect (FX) Illusions or visual tricks used in the film, television, theatre, video game and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual world.
Special Effects Generator (SEG) Video signal processor with vast, but varying, image manipulation capabilities involving patterns and placement as well as color and texture.
Speed Of Sound The velocity of sound in air is 770 mi/hr. This speed, however, is influenced by temperature and air pressure.
Spike A short burst of voltage, current or energy on a transmission line or circuit.
Spill Light that is escaping from the sides of a lighting unit, or any light that is falling where it is not wanted.
Spill Fill Light that is escaping from the sides of a lighting unit, or any light that is falling where it is not wanted.
Splice The technique of compositing used to combine visual elements such as actors onto a virtual background. In traditional film-making, refers to the act of joining two pieces of film by any of several methods.
Spline A curve in 3D space defined by control points. Used for interpolation and smoothing.
Split Cut A type of cut in which the picture changes but the audio continues.
Split Screen Optical or special effects shot in which two separate images are combined on each frame.
Spool A flanged roll on which film is wound for general handling or projection.
Spotlight Radiates a well-defined directional beam of light, casting hard, distinct shadows.
Spotting Used in scoring and sound effects editing to identify the specific scenes or points where music cues or effects cues will take place. Usually, this will include information on length and style.
Sprocket Geared wheels that attach onto the perforations on the edge of a film roll and wind it through a mechanism into a camera or projector.
Standing Waves A deep sound in a small room or recording booth. It refers to low audio frequencies caused by long waves with short reflection patterns.
Star Filter Filter mounted at front of the camera lens gives videotaped light sources a starburst effect.
Start-up/closedown Test A chart with special patterns, placed in front of a television camera to generate a known reference signal that can be used to adjust the camera and all the equipment downstream from the camera.
Static Random-access Memory (SRAM) A type of semiconductor random-access memory (RAM) that uses bistable latching circuitry (flip-flop) to store each bit.
Steadicam A flying camera stabilizer (often comprised of an arm, vest, and sled) that enables cinematographers to get smooth moving shots.
Stem A discrete or grouped collection of audio sources mixed together, usually by one person, to be dealt with downstream as one unit.
Step The act of moving forward or backward through video one frame at a time.
Step Outline In scriptwriting, an outline used by writers to help organize and visualize their story before writing it.
Stereo Sound emanating from two isolated sources, intended to simulate pattern of natural human hearing.
Stinger The nickname for an extension cord made to the film industry standard. Most often referred to a single 'hot' extension that is left lying around for occasional use.
Stock In traditional film-making, a general term for the motion picture film itself, before it is exposed.
Stock Character A plot outline used by writers to help organize and visualize their story before writing it.
Stock Footage Video footage that can be used again in other films.
Stock Numbers A series of numbers with key lettering printed along the edge of a 35 mm negative at intervals of one foot (16 frames or 64 perforations) and on a 16 mm negative at intervals of six inches (twenty frames).
Stock Shot Video footage that can be used again in other films.
Stop Motion An animated-film making technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion when the series of frames is played back as a fast sequence.
Story Arc The parabolic shift in polar attitudes of a character from point A to point B during the course of a story.
Storyboard A drawing that shows each scene of your video. A storyboard provides a concise plan for what you need to shoot or animate.
Storytelling The social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics, or embellishment.
Stream A sequence of digitally encoded coherent signals (packets of data or data packets) used to transmit or receive information that is in the process of being transmitted.
Streaming Media Digital video content that can be transmitted and viewed simultaneously. Typically used for broadcasting "live" events in real-time.
Strike The process of breaking down a camera position, location or set.
Striped Stock Tapes that have been pre-recorded with blank data (a black screen and timecode) before they are used.
Striplight Row lights for evenly illuminating a cyclorama or other background.
Strobe Special effect in which a frame is periodically held for a finite time until another frame is held.
Subcarrier A sideband of a radio frequency carrier wave, which is modulated to send additional information.
Subpixels A spatial resolution smaller than that of pixels.
Subplot A secondary strand of the plot that is a supporting side story for any story or the main plot.
Subsampling The practice of encoding images by implementing less resolution for chroma information than for luma information, taking advantage of the human visual system's lower acuity for color differences than for luminance.
Subtext In scriptwriting, the undercurrent of emotions and polar attitude shifts that lie beneath physical action and between the lines of dialogue.
Superimposition The placement of an image or video on top of an already-existing image or video, usually to add to the overall image effect.
Super VHS (S-VHS) An improved version of the VHS tape format capable of recording better picture resolution.
Superzoom A type of photographic zoom lens with unconventionally large focal length factors, typically ranging from wide-angle to extreme long lens focal lengths in one lens.
Supporting Character A character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo appearance.
Surround Sound Sound that is reproduced through speakers above or behind the audience.
Suspense In scriptwriting, a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, of being undecided, or of being doubtful.
Sustain The amplitude of a sound or musical note while it is being held.
Sweetening Enhancing the sound of a recording or a particular sound effect with equalization or some other signal processing device.
Swishblog A unique way of vid-blogging (invented by Vimean Justin Johnson) that makes use of quick pans or tilts at the beginning and end of every shot to transition between clips and give your video a fun, dream-like feel.
Swish Pan Extremely rapid camera movement from left to right or right to left, appearing as an image blur.
Switcher A device used to select between several different video sources and, in some cases, compositing video sources together to create special effects.
Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SONET) Standardized protocols that transfer multiple digital bit streams synchronously over optical fiber using lasers or highly coherent light from light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) Standardized protocols that transfer multiple digital bit streams synchronously over optical fiber using lasers or highly coherent light from light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
Sync Light A camera attachment which records the film shot and take numbers and a visible sync mark which corresponds to a tone fed to an audio recorder.
Sync Restoration A process which replaces distorted and missing sync* information by checking incoming sync, analyzing the frequencies involved and generating new fully restored sync.
Syncro-edit Wired control protocol which activates/deactivates a VCR's record pause function. Many non-compatible versions of this protocol exist.
Sync Stripping A process which separates sync from the rest of the video signal for timing correction, clamping and other purposes.
T-Stop The f-stop value divided by the square root of the lens transmittance.
T1 (DS1) A telephone company format for transmitting information digitally.
T3 (DS3) A terrestrial and satellite format for transmitting information digitally.
Tearing An horizontal line which appears during playback, caused by the graphics processor being out of sync with the display.
Technical Grade A telecine transfer is adjusted to be as flat as possible so as not to lose any color information. A tape grade will be performed later on to achieve the desired look of the film.
Telecine The process of transferring motion picture film into video and is performed in a color suite.
Telephoto A lens that uses a telephoto group to enable a longer focal length than the physical body of the lens would normally permit.
Teleplay A screenplay or script used in the production of a scripted television program or series.
Teleprompter A device for displaying large, readable text on a partially transparent screen for video production.
Temp Dub A preliminary mixing of dialogue, music, and sound effects, usually so that a first cut may be viewed with all of these elements incorporated.
Temporal Aliasing A side effect of digital signal processing that causes distortion or unwanted artifacts in the reconstruction process. Aliasing can affect both the video and the audio signals.
Termination Switch A switch that connects and disconnects a load resistance to a video input, used to terminate the line.
Test Card A chart with special patterns, placed in front of a television camera to generate a known reference signal that can be used to adjust the camera and all the equipment downstream from the camera.
Test Pattern A chart with special patterns, placed in front of a television camera to generate a known reference signal that can be used to adjust the camera and all the equipment downstream from the camera.
Thematic Patterning A metaphoric element, literary or cinematic device used within a film to weave an underlying message or theme throughout the story.
Thematic Thread A metaphoric element, literary or cinematic device used within a film to weave an underlying message or theme throughout the story.
Theme An underlying philosophical, social or spiritual message that gives the plot meaning and elevates the story to its essential, universal human ideas.
three-act structure
Thin Raster An image that has been squeezed horizontally to preserve bandwidth and then unsqueezed before playback.
Three-point Lighting A common type of lighting setup that lights a subject from three different sources in order to control shadows and balance contrast.
Three-quarter-inch Most popular professional/industrial video format employing larger cassettes and three-quarter-inch tape.
Three-shot Camera view including three subjects, generally applicable to interview situations.
Three-two Pull Down The method used to map the 24 fps of film onto the 30 fps of 525-line TV.
Threshold Of Visibility (TOV) The impairment level (or D/U in dB) beyond which a source of impairment or interference may introduce visible deficiencies in more sensitive program material.
THX A theatrical film exhibition sound system which maintains a consistent sound standard from theatre to theatre.
Ticker Text or graphics, usually special announcements that move across the screen horizontally, typically from right to left across the bottom of the screen.
Tight On (CU) A type of shot taken at close range that tightly frames the subject.
Tilt Fixed up and down, or vertical, movements made with the camera.
Time-division Multiplexing (TDM) A method of transmitting and receiving independent signals over a common signal path by means of synchronized switches at each end of the transmission line so that each signal appears on the line only a fraction of time in an alternating pattern.
Time Base Correction When an electronic signal travels through electronic circuitry or even through long coaxial cable runs, delay problems may occur. This is manifested as a displaced image and special electronic circuitry is needed to correct it.
Time Base Corrector (TBC) A device used to rectify any problems with a video signal's sync pulses by generating a new clean time base and synchronizing any other incoming video to this reference.
Time Code A high-frequency signal that allows the accurate "locking" of film audio and video equipment.
Timecode A high-frequency signal that allows the accurate "locking" of film audio and video equipment.
Timelapse A technique where each frame in a video is captured at a much slower rate than normal.
Timeline A visual representation of a movie over time.
Timing Skew A phenomenon in synchronous digital circuit systems (such as computer systems) in which the same sourced clock signal arrives at different components at different times.
Title Sequence A scene or sequence of scenes over which the title roll of the movie credits are superimposed.
Titling Process or result of incorporating on-screen text as credits, captions, or any other alphanumeric communication to video viewers.
Tone The attitude toward a subject or story that is being expressed by the writer or director of a screenplay or film.
Total Flux Method A simplified method to calculate the light level in a room.
Track A separate audio or video layer on a timeline.
Tracking The process of locating a moving object (or multiple objects) over time using a camera.
Tracking Shot A camera shot that physically advances or changes the position of the camera relative to the subject, changing the spatial relations between a subject and its surroundings.
Trailer A short publicity film which advertises a film or forthcoming presentations.
Transcoding The process of converting a file or stream from one format to another.
Transformational Arc The parabolic shift in polar attitudes of a character from point A to point B during the course of a story.
Transient A short burst or spike of energy caused by a sudden change of state.
Transition A technique used in the post-production process of film editing and video editing by which scenes or shots are combined
Translucent Property of a material that allows a partial transmission of light, generally diffusing it and eliminating glare. Frosted glass is an example of a translucent material.
Transparent Property of a material that allows most or all of the light incident on it to pass through. Clear glass is a translucent material.
Traveling Matte An evolution of the matte process that allowed the matte to animate its shape and position from frame to frame.
Treatment A piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards (index cards) and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play.
Trims Portions of a scene left over after the selected section has been used in final cutting.
Tripod Three-legged camera mount offering stability and camera placement/movement consistency. Most are lightweight, used for remote recording.
Tripod Head The part of a tripod system that attaches the supported device (such as a camera) to the tripod legs, and allows the orientation of the device to be manipulated or locked down.
Trolley Shot A shot in which the camera moves toward or away from its subject while filming.
Trucking Shot A shot in which the camera moves toward or away from its subject while filming.
Tuner Television and VCR component that receives RF signals from an antenna or other RF sources and decodes into separate audio and video signals.
Tungsten Halogen Tungsten-Halogen lights or lighting units. The name is derived from the material which encloses the lighting element.
Tungsten Light A light bulb that emits light using a filament of tungsten wire, and are larger versions of the everyday lighting found in your home.
TV Safe The area of a filmed image which will normally appear on a home television set after a film has been transferred in telecine and then transmitted.
Tweening The process of generating intermediate frames between two images, called key frames, to give the appearance that the first image evolves smoothly into the second image.
Two Shot A camera view including two subjects, most generally applicable to interview situations.
Type C SMPTE standard for 1-inch non-segmented helical video recording format.
U-matic Most popular professional/industrial video format employing larger cassettes and three-quarter-inch tape.
UHD Ultra-high-definition television (also known as Ultra HD television, Ultra HD, UHDTV, UHD and Super Hi-Vision) today includes 4K UHD and 8K UHD, which are two digital video formats with an aspect ratio of 16:9.
UHDTV Ultra-high-definition television (also known as Ultra HD television, Ultra HD, UHDTV, UHD and Super Hi-Vision) today includes 4K UHD and 8K UHD, which are two digital video formats with an aspect ratio of 16:9.
Ultra-high-definition Television Ultra-high-definition television (also known as Ultra HD television, Ultra HD, UHDTV, UHD and Super Hi-Vision) today includes 4K UHD and 8K UHD, which are two digital video formats with an aspect ratio of 16:9.
Ultra HD Television Ultra-high-definition television (also known as Ultra HD television, Ultra HD, UHDTV, UHD and Super Hi-Vision) today includes 4K UHD and 8K UHD, which are two digital video formats with an aspect ratio of 16:9.
Ultraviolet Light (UV) A type of electromagnetic radiation, invisible to the human eye (i.e., beyond the visible spectrum) with a wavelength of 10 to 380 nanometers.
Umbrella Lighting accessory available in various sizes usually made of textured gold or silver fabric. Facilitates soft, shadowless illumination by reflecting light onto a scene.
Undercranking The process of slowing the frame rate of a camera down, so that when the captured pictures are played at the normal frame rate the action appears to be in fast motion.
Underexposed Film that has not been exposed to light for a long enough time to provide proper contrast and thus appears dim.
Underscan A video or computer image reduced so that all four edges are visible on-screen, leaving it surrounded by black borders.
Underscore An underscore is a soft, noiseless soundtrack theme which accompanies the action in performance.
Unidirectional A highly selective microphone pickup pattern rejects sound coming from behind while absorbing that from in front.
Uniform Noise The noise caused by quantizing the pixels of a sensed image to a number of discrete levels is known as quantization noise.
Unsqueeze A print or image in which the distorted image of an anamorphic negative has been corrected for normal projection or display.
Upconversion A system which converts video signals from one display resolution to another; typically, scalers are used to convert a signal from a lower resolution, a process known as "upconversion" or "upscaling."
Uplighting Lighting method where an object or surface is lit from below, with a luminaire that directs its output upward. Uplighting is commonly used in lighting applications that require minimal glare and uniform general illuminance levels.
Upscaling A system which converts video signals from one display resolution to another; typically, scalers are used to convert a signal from a lower resolution, a process known as "upconversion" or "upscaling."
User Bits Portions of VITC and LTC (time code) reserved for recording information of the user's choosing, e.g., date, scene numbers.
Vari-speed Increasing or decreasing tape speed to match the musical pitch of the playback.
Variable Bitrate (VBR) Variable bitrate is a process of encoding files which varies the amount of output data based on the complexity of a given time segment.
Vertical Refresh Rate The number of times in a second that a display hardware updates its buffer.
Vertical Scan Rate The number of times in a second that a display hardware updates its buffer.
Vertical Sync ( VSYNC) Synchronizing pulses used to define the end of one television field and the start of the next, occurring at a rate of approximately 59.94 Hz.
Vertigo Effect In-camera effect that appears to undermine normal visual perception.
VESA (acr.) Video Electronics Standards Association.
VHS Compact (VHS-C) A compact VHS videocassette format, introduced by Victor Company of Japan (JVC) in 1982, and used primarily for consumer-grade compact analog recording camcorders.
Video An electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media.
Video-in Video-out (VIVO) A graphics port that enables some video cards to have bidirectional (input and output) analog video transfer through a mini-DIN connector, usually of the 9-pin variety, and a specialized splitter cable (which can sometimes also transfer analog audio).
Video Amplifier Video amplifiers are devices that amplify the power of the video signals, using bandwidths that differ depending on the target.
Video Assist The process of simultaneously recording filmed picture onto videotape by means of the same lens system in order to immediately evaluate a take as soon as it is completed.
Videocassette A permanently encased videotape that winds and rewinds from reel-to-reel.
Videocassette Recorder (VCR) Multifunction machine intended primarily for recording and playback of videotape stored in cassettes.
Video Compression Picture Types In the field of video compression, a video frame is compressed using different algorithms with different advantages and disadvantages, centered mainly around the amount of data compression.
Videodisc A flat disc of plastic or other material on which video signals are recorded. Videodiscs range in diameter from 3 in. to 12 in. and include the ca. 4 3/4 in. (12 cm.) DVD and video CD.
Video On Demand (VOD) A video media distribution system that allows users to access video entertainment without a traditional video entertainment device and without the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule.
Video Printer A special device used to capture a single frame of video to create a hard copy print.
Video Projector A display device which projects a video or computer image onto a large screen.
Video Prompter A device for displaying large, readable text on a partially transparent screen for video production.
Video Quality A measure of the perceived degradation of the video signal.
Videoreel Videotape that is not permanently encased.
Video Sync A composite color video signal comprised of sync, color burst and black video.
Videotape Format A variety of formats are used to record video. They vary by tape width: (8mm, 1/2 inch, 3/4 inch, 1 inch), signal form: (composite, Y/C, component), data storage type (analog or digital) and signal standard (PAL, NTSC, SECAM).
Video Tape Recorder (VTR) A tape recorder designed to record and playback video and audio material on magnetic tape.
Video Toaster Software/hardware developed by NewTek for the Amiga Computer. Made special effects affordable for the low budget producer.
Video Wall A special multi-monitor setup that consists of multiple monitors tiled together contiguously or overlapped in order to form one large screen.
Viewfinder The part of the camera you look through to see the image from your lens’ field of view.
Vignette Visual special effect whereby viewers see images through a perceived keyhole, heart shape, diamond, etc.
Vignetting Undesirable darkening at the corners of a picture, as if viewer's peering through a telescope, due to improper matching of the lens to the camera.
Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) A standard file format for representing 3-dimensional (3D) interactive vector graphics, designed particularly with the World Wide Web in mind. It has been superseded by X3D.
Vision Mixer A device used to select between several different video sources and, in some cases, compositing video sources together to create special effects.
Vistavision A 35mm film format with a large surface area and low grain.
Voice-over A production technique where a voice that is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations.
Voiceover (VO) Audio from an unseen narrator accompanying video, heard above background sound or music.
Volume Unit Meter (VU) A device displaying a representation of the signal level in audio equipment.
XLR4 Four-pin XLR connectors are used in a variety of applications.
XLR5 Five-pin XLR connectors are the standard for DMX512 digital lighting control.
XLR6 Six-pin XLR connectors are used for dual channel intercom systems and stage lighting control applications.
XLR7 Seven-pin XLR connectors are used to connect some valve (tube) condenser microphones to their power supplies (carrying signal, polarisation voltage, heater, and HT).
XLR Connector (XLR) One of several varieties of sound connectors having three or more conductors plus an outer shell which shields the connectors and locks the connectors into place.
Y/C A signaling standard for standard definition video, typically 480i or 576i.
YCbCr A family of color spaces used as a part of the color image pipeline in video and digital photography systems.
YDbDr The color space used in the SECAM analog terrestrial color television broadcasting standard
YPbPr YPbPr is the analog video signal carried by component video cable in consumer electronics. The green cable carries Y, the blue cable carries PB and the red cable carries PR.
YUV A video system employing luminance and two chroma components directly related to the red and blue components.
Zoom Variance of focal length, bringing subject into and out of closeup range.
Zoom Happy One who indulges in the gratification of zooming in and out to the torment of viewers. Common in home movies.
Zooming A camera shot that magnifies the view of the subject while the camera itself remains stationary.
Zoom Lens A mechanical assembly of lens elements for which the focal length (and thus angle of view) can be varied, as opposed to a fixed focal length (FFL) lens.
Zoom Ratio Range of a lens' focal length, from most "zoomed in" field of view to most "zoomed out."
Zoom Shot A camera shot that magnifies the view of the subject while the camera itself remains stationary.
The Equitek E100S Supercardioid Condenser Microphone from CAD features a large-diaphragm, providing a low noise floor of 3.7 dB and a smooth, vintage tone with a robust low end.
